Several injured in attack on airport in Saudi capital Riyadh
Several people were injured when an attack struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, prompting the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority to suspend operations at the hub on Saturday. Eyewitnesses reported a blast near gate 401 in the domestic terminal, with more than a dozen ambulances rushing to the scene and dozens of patients later taken to local hospitals. The United States embassy confirmed it was “aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport” and advised American citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. Western embassies in Saudi Arabia issued similar warnings, and Gulf carriers, including Kuwait Airways, cancelled flights citing the deteriorating security situation; aviation tracker Flightradar indicated that all flights to Riyadh were either diverted or cancelled.
The incident follows a series of recent assaults claimed by Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi movement against Saudi aviation facilities. Just a day earlier, Saudi authorities reported that three Saudis, among them a pilot, were killed in two separate attacks on the same airport, and earlier in the week three more people died in Houthi strikes on two other Saudi airports. The Houthis say their campaign targets Saudi Arabia in retaliation for Riyadh’s support of the Saudi‑backed Yemeni government and for a perceived blockade, especially after they seized key Red Sea ports such as Mokha on the Bab al‑Mandab Strait. The broader conflict, which intensified after the Houthis’ rapid offensive along the Red Sea coast, has already drawn a Saudi‑led coalition into Yemen since 2015 and produced a temporary ceasefire in 2022 that has since collapsed.
Medical sources told AFP that hospitals were mobilised to handle a “serious emergency situation,” reflecting the scale of civilian casualties. The attacks have heightened regional tensions and disrupted air travel across the Gulf, with airlines rerouting or cancelling services and passengers facing uncertainty. The escalation underscores the Houthis’ expanding strategy of striking high‑profile Saudi infrastructure, aiming to pressure Riyadh over its involvement in Yemen’s civil war and to challenge the kingdom’s control of critical maritime chokepoints. The ongoing violence threatens further destabilisation of an already fragile humanitarian landscape in the region.
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🌍World Economy
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🏙️Local Economy
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🏦Rates & Banks
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💷Wealth
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🏠Housing
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