Three Killed in Attacks on Riyadh Airport, Saudi Arabia Says
The Saudi civil aviation authority said two attacks on Thursday targeting the airport and a Saudia Airlines plane resulted in the deaths of three people.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Three people, including the captain of a Saudia Airlines aircraft, were killed in attacks targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Friday, after Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed a series of strikes against the facility.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said two attacks on Thursday targeting the airport and a Saudia Airlines plane resulted in the deaths of three people. The national flag carrier confirmed the death of the aircraft’s captain, expressing “profound sadness” over the incident.
The attacks disrupted air traffic at the Saudi capital’s main airport, with numerous flights delayed or cancelled. Airport authorities advised passengers to contact their airlines before travelling.
Explosions were heard across Riyadh on Thursday as the attacks prompted diplomatic missions to take shelter and international schools to implement safety measures.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense agency also reported that debris from intercepted projectiles damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh. Authorities did not immediately disclose whether anyone was injured at those locations.
The attacks come as fighting between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement and the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government has intensified. The Houthis have expanded their territorial control in Yemen and launched repeated attacks on Saudi targets, including transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen in 2015 to support the government against the Houthis, who had seized the capital, Sanaa, and other major population centers the previous year.
Despite a counter-offensive aimed at reversing the Houthi advance, Saudi-backed forces have struggled to regain lost territory, including areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic maritime passage linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and a key route for international shipping and energy supplies.
A regional source told AFP on Friday that Riyadh would not yield to what the source described as the Houthis’ “military blackmail.” The source added that Saudi Arabia would not agree to a truce until the Yemeni government regained all territory lost in recent weeks.
The latest attacks underscore the growing regional security implications of the conflict, as hostilities threaten civilian infrastructure, air travel and vital commercial routes.