At least 12 people have been killed and 309 others injured following an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, marking the deadliest assault on the kingdom in more than a decade.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said the victims included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and one national each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
The attack was the third on the airport within a week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensify their military campaign.
Hospitals received large numbers of casualties transported by ambulances and helicopters, with some victims reported to be in critical condition.
An eyewitness said an explosion was followed by scenes of injured people lying on the airport floor, while more than a dozen ambulances rushed to the facility.
Saudi authorities suspended airport operations and diverted all flights following the incident.
An injured traveller told Reuters that they saw an object flying across the sky before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.
The US embassy in Riyadh subsequently urged American citizens to stay away from the airport and surrounding areas.
US President, Donald Trump, said Washington was considering joining Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against the Houthis, following the latest attack.
Asked whether the United States would participate, 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.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack, saying it “demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also denounced the strike, stressing that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law and must stop immediately.
Although the Houthis have not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, the group has warned international airlines against operating through Saudi airspace, describing it as a military operations zone, except for airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The head of the Houthi media office also claimed on X that the group had “shut down Riyadh international airport”.
The latest violence comes amid an escalating conflict in Yemen following the collapse of a ceasefire agreed between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in 2022.
The breakdown culminated in a Houthi advance that wrested control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb area from Saudi-backed government forces.
Saudi Arabia entered the Yemeni conflict in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition seeking to drive the Houthis out of the capital, Sanaa.
The war has caused widespread devastation, with hundreds of thousands of people dying from fighting and famine.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognised government have continued airstrikes against Houthi-held areas to support ground operations aimed at reclaiming territory.
The Houthis have accused the coalition of killing civilians, including women and children, although the claims have not been independently verified.
The attacks have also disrupted air travel to Riyadh ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to take place in the Saudi capital.
Several airlines had already suspended or cancelled services following earlier strikes, while conference organisers said the events would proceed as planned.
