One person was killed and nearly a dozen others were injured in a fresh attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday, just a day after a deadly Houthi strike killed 13 people and wounded over 300. Saudi-led coalition forces reported that an unidentified projectile targeted Terminal 4 of the capital’s airport, sparking a fire. The civil aviation authority confirmed one fatality and eleven injuries in Sunday’s strike.
The attack follows a massive escalation after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike on the Riyadh airport, which is considered the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade. Footage broadcasted by Saudi state television of the Saturday attack showed religious pilgrims panicking and fleeing as a bright orange flash ripped through a gate area, causing part of the roof to cave in.
In addition to the Riyadh airport incident, Saudi air defences intercepted a cruise missile near King Khalid International Airport, destroyed a drone in the country’s Eastern Province, and intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward Khamis Mushait. The Saudi civil aviation authority also confirmed a separate strike on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late Sunday, where an eyewitness reported seeing a projectile hit the tarmac near parked aircraft and start a fire.
The renewed violence has exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi defence capabilities as the kingdom wages an air campaign against the Houthis, who are fighting a ground war in Yemen against the Saudi-backed government. Following the attacks, the British embassy advised citizens against non-essential travel to major Saudi airports, and US aviation authorities issued caution notices to airlines. Meanwhile, the Houthis warned that worse is yet to come unless Saudi Arabia halts its military involvement and air strikes in Yemen.
Amid the security crisis, international fallout has begun to grow. US President Donald Trump stated that Washington is considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis. At the same time, regional and global events faced disruptions, with German officials attempting to arrange an alternative flight home for their economy minister, while Saudi authorities shifted in-person classes in Riyadh schools to remote learning through Thursday.
(Reuters Inputs
