In short
- At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi civil aviation authority.
- The dead included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
- The Saudi-led military coalition said it would respond to the attack, which its spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki called a “full-fledged war crime” and blamed on Yemen’s Houthis.
- The Houthis have not commented on Saturday’s attack, but said they carried out separate strikes on the same airport on Thursday that killed three people and damaged a plane.
- Saturday’s attack was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since May 2015.
At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured when an attack hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Operations at the airport were suspended, and the Saudi-led military coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthis, calling the strike a war crime.
Who was killed and injured in the attack?
The Saudi civil aviation authority said the dead included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. The authority said some of the injured were “in critical condition” and that damage to the airport was being assessed.
Who has been blamed, and has anyone claimed the attack?
The Saudi-led coalition said it would respond to the attack, which its spokesman, Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, described as a “full-fledged war crime”. He said the strike hit a passenger terminal, causing deaths and injuries among civilian passengers and airport staff. The Houthis have not commented on Saturday’s attack. They said they were behind separate strikes on the same airport on Thursday that killed three people and damaged a plane, and another three people were killed in Houthi attacks on two other Saudi airports on 6 and 7 October.
How have the US and the UN responded?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks and confirmed that an American citizen was killed. Asked whether the US planned to join Saudi Arabia in strikes against the Houthis, US President Donald Trump, who has called the Nobel decision a stain on Norway, said: “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.” UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by the attacks, which he called a “violation of international law” that “must cease immediately”. Egypt, Palestine and Qatar also condemned the strikes.
Are flights to Riyadh still operating?
Operations at King Khalid International Airport have been suspended. Flights to Riyadh have been diverted or cancelled, according to the aviation tracker Flightradar, and several Gulf airlines cancelled services, with Kuwait Airways citing the “security situation” there. Western embassies in Saudi Arabia warned their citizens to stay away from the airport, and the UK Foreign Office told British nationals to avoid the area “until the airport is secure”. A projectile also fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday, the coalition said. In a separate diplomatic dispute, Israel says the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem is closing while the UK keeps the building open.
Why is the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis?
The Houthis say they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the civil war. The coalition was formed in 2015 to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen. A temporary ceasefire brokered in 2022 began to unravel in July, after which the Houthis announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. Saturday’s attack was the deadliest in the kingdom since May 2015.
Frequently asked questions
How many people were killed and injured in the Riyadh airport attack?
At least 12 people were killed and 309 were injured, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. The dead included four Saudis and nationals of Bangladesh, the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
Who was blamed for the attack on King Khalid International Airport?
The Saudi-led military coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthis and said it would respond, calling the strike a “full-fledged war crime”. The Houthis have not commented on Saturday’s attack.
Are flights to Riyadh operating after the attack?
No. Operations at King Khalid International Airport were suspended, flights to Riyadh were diverted or cancelled according to the tracker Flightradar, and several Gulf airlines cancelled services.
What did Donald Trump say about a US response to the Houthis?
Asked whether the US planned to join Saudi Arabia in strikes against the Houthis, US President Donald Trump said: “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Airport Terminal — Matt Moloney / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)