Saudi Arabia: Attack on Riyadh Airport Kills 12, Injures 300

RIYADH: An attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 300. The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed the dead include four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. Operations at the airport have been suspended. It is the deadliest attack in the kingdom since May 2015.
The Saudi-led military coalition called it a “war crime,” blamed Yemen’s Houthis and vowed to respond. The Houthis did not comment on the attack but said they were behind Thursday’s strikes on the same airport, which killed three people and destroyed an aircraft. Separate Houthi attacks on two other Saudi airports on October 6 and 7 killed three more people. The coalition said a projectile also landed near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Saturday.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said the strike on one passenger terminal killed civilian travelers and airport staff. The civil aviation authority said some of the injured are in critical condition and damage is being assessed. A witness told Reuters more than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport, while another saw the wounded fleeing at Gate 401.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply shocked, calling the attacks a violation of international law that must stop immediately. Kuwait called them heinous and cowardly, and Egypt, Palestine and Qatar also condemned them. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly condemned the attacks, confirming an American citizen was killed. President Trump signaled he could join Saudi Arabia in strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis.
Western embassies told citizens to avoid Riyadh airport. The US embassy told staff they need special permission to use the Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports, and several Gulf airlines cancelled flights, with Kuwait Airways citing the security situation. The exchanges come amid fears the US and Israel are about to resume attacks on Iran, with efforts to secure a deal to end that conflict having so far failed.