US President Donald Trump described the attack that targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on Saturday, as "unacceptable" and said that he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at a time when the death toll from the attack rose to 12 dead and 309 injured, amid Arab and international condemnations and an escalation of attacks on Saudi airports.
Trump had said in previous statements that he would make a “quick” decision regarding the possibility of the United States joining Saudi Arabia in launching strikes against the Ansar Allah group in Yemen.
The Saudi-led military coalition announced the interception and destruction of a ballistic missile launched by the Ansar Allah group in Al-Kharj Governorate, hours after it announced that a projectile had fallen in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, east of the Kingdom.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced the killing of 12 people, including four Saudis and eight residents of different nationalities, and the injury of 309 others, some of whom are in critical conditions, as a result of the attack on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday afternoon.
The authority added that the attack caused material damage, which is being assessed, after it announced the temporary suspension of operational operations at the airport.
For its part, the Ansar Allah group said that its attack on Riyadh Airport comes within the framework of its decision to impose a ban on Saudi air traffic, warning that the attacks may include other airports, most notably Jeddah Airport, in addition to economic facilities.
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, condemned the attacks launched by the group on Saudi civilian facilities, considering that they represent a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and complicates peace efforts in Yemen, calling on the group to stop them and respect international humanitarian law.
The attack also sparked condemnations from Arab and foreign countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Lebanon, and Britain, in addition to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other regional organizations, which affirmed their solidarity with Saudi Arabia and called for the protection of civilian facilities and the safety of air navigation.
The attack led to disruptions in air traffic, as Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Kuwait Airways canceled flights to and from Riyadh, while Western embassies, including American, British, Canadian, German, and Spanish, warned their nationals against heading to the airport.
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority reported receiving reports from ship captains regarding radio instructions to leave their anchorage sites near Ras Al Khaimah in the Emirates, without providing details of their reasons.
Doctors were called to hospitals in Riyadh on Saturday to deal with a “serious emergency,” according to what a medical source told AFP.
The source said: “Emergency doctors are being called to hospitals across Riyadh... We have been informed that we are dealing with a serious emergency,” adding, “The injured are being transported to hospitals across Riyadh, and many of them are in critical conditions.”
Western embassies in Saudi Arabia call on their nationals to stay away from Riyadh Airport
On Saturday, the embassies of Canada, Germany and Spain in Saudi Arabia called on their citizens to stay away from Riyadh International Airport, following reports that it had been attacked.
The Spanish embassy, via the X platform, alerted its citizens of a “new attack” on the airport.
The Canadian embassy merely said that “ongoing military activity,” the nature of which was not specified, was affecting the airport, while the German mission attributed its request to “the current situation.”
