According to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the latest attack on King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh has left several people wounded. The authority said operations at the airport were temporarily suspended following the attack on Saturday afternoon, and officials are assessing the damage and determining the exact casualty toll.
Earlier, on Thursday, at least three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, were killed in Houthi attacks on the same airport, according to GACA. The attacks were carried out by the Houthi group in Yemen, which is fighting Riyadh and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based in Aden.
Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry, reporting from Yemen on Saturday, said the Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack. However, the Iran-backed group has warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring that any aircraft operating there — except in the airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — is a target.
Earlier the same day, King Khalid Airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check flight status before arriving at the airport, amid reports of disruption to air traffic. The airport did not specify the cause of the disruption in its initial advisory.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also instructed citizens traveling abroad to contact their local embassies if their travel plans were disrupted by the attack.
After news of the latest attack emerged, President Donald Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House whether the United States planned to join Saudi airstrikes against the Houthis. He said: "We could. We'll take a look. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We act very quickly."
A 'security situation'
Meanwhile, foreign embassies in Riyadh, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, issued social media advisories to their citizens in the kingdom.
The U.S. mission said it was "aware of attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh" and "strongly advised" all U.S. citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. The British and Irish embassies warned their citizens of a "serious incident" at the airport. The Canadian embassy advised citizens in Riyadh to avoid all travel to the airport, noting "ongoing military activity." The Japanese embassy "strongly" condemned the Houthi attacks on the airport and other Saudi civilian facilities.
Kuwait Airways said it was canceling flights because the airport had been closed due to the "security situation."
On Thursday, a Houthi military spokesman claimed the Yemeni armed group had fired a ballistic missile at the Riyadh airport, saying the missile struck its intended target, causing damage and disrupting air traffic. A few days earlier, attacks attributed to the Houthis on Abha airport and King Khalid airport killed three civilians and wounded 36 others.
