Houthi Missile Attack Hits Riyadh Airport, Wounding Dozens and Suspending Flights
Saudi authorities suspend operations at King Khalid International Airport as hospitals activate emergency measures, foreign embassies warn citizens to stay away, and tensions escalate along the Yemen conflict’s front lines
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Saudi Arabia suspended operations at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday after a reported missile attack wounded multiple people, triggering emergency medical measures across the capital and prompting several foreign embassies to warn their citizens to avoid the facility.
The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed that several people were injured in the attack, while a diplomatic source briefed on the incident told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that a missile struck the airport at around 3:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), attributing the attack to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
The aviation authority said the number of casualties was still being assessed and that airport operations had been temporarily suspended while officials evaluated the damage and verified the safety of airport facilities.
Witnesses described an explosion, injuries, and scenes of panic as passengers fled the terminal. One witness told AFP that they saw people injured after a strike hit a gate in the domestic terminal.
A source at a local hospital told AFP that five people were receiving intensive care after being wounded at the airport, while dozens were reportedly injured overall. Two doctors said several pilgrims traveling to Mecca were among those hurt while waiting to board their flights.
A medical source said the health ministry had ordered emergency department doctors to report to hospitals across Riyadh to treat the casualties, describing the incident as a “serious emergency situation.”
The source added that injured people were being transferred to hospitals throughout the capital, with many reportedly in critical condition.
The Houthis had not announced a new attack on Saturday. However, the Iran-backed group has repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers, and claimed a series of strikes on Thursday that killed three people and damaged an aircraft, according to the supplied report.
Embassies Warn Citizens to Avoid Airport
The reported attack prompted security warnings from several foreign diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia.
The US Embassy in Riyadh said it was aware of attacks on the airport and urged American citizens to avoid the area. The Canadian, German, and Spanish embassies also issued warnings to their nationals.
Spain’s embassy specifically alerted citizens to a new Houthi attack in a message posted on X.
A senior Western diplomat told AFP that several embassies had decided, as a precaution, to prohibit their staff from traveling to and from Riyadh airport over the following week.
The latest incident comes amid an intensification of attacks targeting Riyadh during the wider Middle Eastern conflict. The frequency and scale of recent strikes have been described in the supplied report as unprecedented during the eight months of regional war.
Saudi authorities have generally issued limited public statements on Houthi attacks in recent weeks, making the civil aviation authority’s confirmation of injuries and the airport suspension notable.
Yemen Fighting Intensifies Near Bab al-Mandab
The airport attack came as fighting continued in Yemen, where Saudi-backed government forces were reportedly advancing against the Houthis near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to military sources cited by AFP.
The Yemeni government announced a counteroffensive last week aimed at retaking territory controlled by the Houthis, following the group’s reported seizure of the country’s entire western coastline in a rapid offensive.
The Houthis confirmed that government forces had attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area but claimed to have repelled the assault. The competing battlefield claims could not be independently verified, according to the report.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait is a strategic maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serving as a key passage for international cargo and energy shipments.
The Yemen conflict intensified again after a four-year, United Nations-brokered truce collapsed, amid a broader regional war that has disrupted energy supplies and unsettled international markets.
Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, has become increasingly drawn into the renewed fighting.
The reported strike on Riyadh airport underscores the growing risks to civilian infrastructure and air travel as the conflict spreads beyond Yemen’s borders.