Riyadh Airport Attack Kills at Least 12, Saudi Authority Says
At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in an attack Saturday on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority said Sunday. Some of the injured were in critical condition.
The authority identified the dead as four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, and one person each from Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
The attack followed two others at the airport earlier in the week that killed four people, wounded others and badly damaged an aircraft. It came amid an escalation of missile strikes against Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. The Saudi early warning system did not issue an alert before Saturday’s incident.
A witness told Reuters they saw an explosion and people injured inside the airport. Another traveller, who was injured, said they saw something cross the sky before part of a ceiling near a departure gate collapsed. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading to the airport.
The incident disrupted travel to the Saudi capital. Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed flights to Riyadh being diverted or cancelled. Kuwait Airways cancelled its Riyadh services, while Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways cancelled several flights, including some scheduled into Monday.
The U.S. Embassy advised Americans to avoid the airport and surrounding area. Canada advised its citizens to avoid all travel to the airport, while the U.K. and Irish embassies said they were aware of a serious incident.
Asked whether the United States might join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would consider it and make a decision quickly.
Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences. Their organizers said Saturday that the events would proceed as planned. The Houthis have warned airliners to avoid Saudi airspace after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.