Riyadh Airport Attack Halts Flights After Deadly Third Strike This Week
Goldlaner.com – Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was forced to suspend operations on Saturday after an attack killed 12 people and injured dozens more, marking the third strike on the Saudi capital’s main airport in a single week.
Flights were diverted or canceled as emergency crews moved casualties from the airport, which serves a metropolitan area of roughly 8 million people. The death toll has not been officially confirmed and may change, with people familiar with the situation saying several victims were in critical condition.
Saudi authorities had not immediately issued a public casualty figure or responded to questions about the incident. Two Western officials were among those briefed on the attack, and they cautioned that the number of people killed and wounded was still preliminary.
Airport operations disrupted
The attack struck without advance notice, and Saudi Arabia’s threat-warning system did not issue an alert before the explosion. Ambulances and helicopters transported injured people to hospitals, while airport activity was temporarily halted by the civil aviation authority.
One person at the airport described seeing an explosion followed by multiple injured people on the ground inside the facility. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading toward the airport. Footage verified by Reuters showed emergency vehicles at the scene.
An injured traveler said an object appeared to cross the sky outside the airport before part of a ceiling near a departure gate gave way. The account added to concerns about the impact of the strike inside the passenger terminal area.
Flight-tracking data showed that incoming flights to Riyadh had been either diverted or canceled. At one point, a helicopter was the only aircraft visible over the airport. Kuwait Airways canceled services to and from the Saudi capital, citing the airport closure and the security situation.
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways had already called off several flights between Riyadh and their hubs, with some cancellations extending into Monday. A number of airlines had reduced or suspended operations to the Saudi capital after earlier attacks this week.
Houthis linked to earlier attacks
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, however, has intensified missile attacks against Saudi Arabia and took responsibility for the previous two airport attacks earlier in the week.
Those earlier incidents killed four people and severely damaged a Saudi commercial aircraft. Following the latest attack, the Houthi military spokesperson reposted a message published before the strike that said only pre-approved humanitarian flights could land at Riyadh airport.
“a reminder.”
The attacks have highlighted the pressure on Saudi defenses as the kingdom conducts an air campaign against the Houthis in support of a ground conflict led by Yemen’s government. The Houthis have declared Saudi airspace a military operations zone and said commercial aircraft should avoid it.
The escalation comes after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government began an offensive against the group earlier this month. At the same time, forces backed by Riyadh have faced setbacks in Yemen, where the Houthis have tightened their siege of Taiz, the country’s third-largest city.
Saudi and Yemeni authorities have also said they retook Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic maritime chokepoint that the Houthis captured during a rapid offensive last month. Control of the passage is important because it links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a major route for international shipping.
Foreign governments issue warnings
Western embassies urged their citizens to stay away from the airport and nearby areas. The US Embassy in Riyadh said it was aware of the attacks and issued a strong warning for Americans to avoid the airport and surrounding locations.
“strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
The British and Irish embassies said they were aware of a serious incident at the airport. Canada’s embassy said continuing military activity had disrupted airport operations.
The attack occurred shortly before Riyadh is scheduled to host major energy and investment conferences. Organizers said Saturday that the events would proceed as planned and sought to reassure visitors about security arrangements.
For travelers, the immediate impact is likely to remain severe while airport authorities assess damage, move passengers, and determine when normal operations can resume. Passengers with planned travel through Riyadh face the prospect of diversions, cancellations, and changes to airline schedules as the security situation develops.
The repeated strikes underscore how a conflict centered in Yemen is increasingly affecting transport, aviation, and public safety inside Saudi Arabia. With Riyadh’s busiest airport disrupted for a third time in days, pressure is growing on Saudi authorities and regional airlines to respond to an increasingly volatile security environment.
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