Suspected Attack at Riyadh Airport Leaves Several Injured Amid Rising Houthi Threat
Several people have reportedly been injured in a suspected attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, forcing an evacuation and disrupting flights as tensions with Yemen’s Houthi rebels intensify. A loud explosion was heard at the airport on Saturday, according to international news agencies, while Reuters cited an eyewitness who saw more than a dozen ambulances rushing to the scene. A local hospital source also told AFP that dozens of people had been wounded. Although Saudi authorities had not officially confirmed the incident at the time of reporting, western embassies urged their citizens to stay away from the airport, and several Gulf airlines cancelled flights over security concerns. Flight-tracking data showed that services to Riyadh had been diverted or cancelled.
The suspected attack follows a series of strikes attributed to the Houthis, who have stepped up operations against Saudi targets in response to Riyadh’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Saudi authorities had earlier reported that three nationals, including a pilot, were killed in two attacks, following separate strikes on two Saudi airports on October 6 and 7. The latest incident comes amid renewed fighting in Yemen, where the Houthis control much of the north-western region. The conflict began escalating after a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to prevent the rebels from overthrowing the internationally recognised government. Although a ceasefire brokered in 2022 brought a period of relative calm, the informal truce has weakened since July, with the Houthis announcing a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and launching missile and drone attacks on airports, oil facilities and vessels in the Red Sea. The renewed violence threatens to deepen a conflict that has already caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
