After an attack that left twelve people dead and hundreds injured, the international airport in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh was attacked again on Sunday.
The Saudi-led military coalition against Yemen's Houthi militia said a bullet hit the airport's Terminal 4 and started a fire. The air defense also “intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile near the airport,” said coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki. Journalists from the AFP news agency and residents of Riyadh had previously heard two powerful explosions.
According to Saudi Arabia, twelve people were killed and 309 others injured in an attack on Riyadh airport on Saturday. The airport was closed and flight operations were suspended on Sunday. The Saudi-led military coalition blamed Yemen's Houthi militia for the attack.
The Iranian-backed militia threatened further attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Travelers, employees and airlines should not use them, said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Saree.
Of the at least twelve known fatalities so far, four were locals and eight were foreigners. 309 other people were injured in Saturday's attack, some of them seriously, the civil aviation authority said on Sunday.
According to the information, the foreign fatalities were one person from the USA, two people from Bangladesh, one Palestinian and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. The statement also spoke of “material damage” caused by the attack.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by the Houthi attack on Saturday. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violated international law. They must be hired immediately, he demanded.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the deadly attack on the airport as a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Houthi militia to end its attacks on civilian targets. “These attacks by Iran’s proxies are driving the region into a spiral of violence,” von der Leyen said on Sunday. Such attacks destabilized key transportation and energy hubs and sent “shockwaves throughout the world.”
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) declared on Sunday on the online service X that the act was an “act of terrorism” against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation. “Our thoughts are with the victims and my deepest condolences to the families,” Wadephul wrote. He also conveyed this to his Saudi Arabian colleague Faisal bin Farhan.
The Saudi Arabian aviation authority confirmed an attack on the airport, but did not officially blame the Houthis for the attack. Flight operations have been suspended for the time being. Tracking website Flightradar 24 later said on online service X that the closure of Riyadh airport had been extended by 24 hours until 10 p.m. CEST.
Riyadh airport was hit on Thursday. According to Saudi Arabian information, three people were killed and one aircraft was damaged. Germany and other Western countries now advise against using the airport.
Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemen in the fight against the Houthis. The Iran-backed Houthi militia has controlled large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, for years. Most recently, after a lightning offensive, it took control of large parts of the coast on the strategically and economically important Bab al-Mandab Strait.
US President Donald Trump also condemned the attack. “What happened in Saudi Arabia is unacceptable,” Trump told journalists on Saturday (local time) at Joint Base Andrews government airport. He will “talk” about it with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also commented. The United States condemned the Houthi militia's recent attacks on Saudi Arabia "in the strongest possible terms," he wrote on Platform X. "These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for the lives of innocent civilians. They must stop immediately." The United States stands with Saudi Arabia, Rubio added.
The United Nations also expressed concern. “These attacks represent a serious escalation,” said the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Saturday (local time) in New York. “Such actions pose a serious threat to regional security, perpetuate cycles of violence and further complicate peace efforts for Yemen.”
US President Trump is now apparently considering supporting Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Houthis. After the attack on Riyadh airport, his government would now make a decision “very quickly,” he told reporters at the White House on Saturday. According to US media, the USA had so far rejected Saudi Arabia's requests for military support.
The US mission in Saudi Arabia urged all US citizens in the allied kingdom to avoid King Khalid International Airport and surrounding areas. U.S. government employees needed special permission to use the airport as well as airports in Jeddah and Dammam, the U.S. Embassy wrote in a statement, advising extreme caution when using all major airports in the country.
