Multiple people are understood to have been wounded in an explosion at the airport in Saudi Arabia‘s capital, just days after it was attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was attacked again today, according to officials, as an urgent evacuation was triggered at the international travel hub.
Eyewitnesses saw multiple people lying injured on the ground as more than a dozen rushed to the airport, while residents reported hearing two huge explosions.
All flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point, aviation tracker Flightradar shows.
Canada‘s embassy advised citizens to avoid all travel to the airport, noting ‘ongoing military activity’.
The Houthis have yet to give a statement about today’s attack, but have claimed responsibility for attacks earlier in the week.
The airport has already been attacked twice this week, leaving four people dead and others wounded, and badly damaging an aircraft.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the militant group hit the airport with two cruise missiles on Friday, heavily damaging the passenger plane, and struck Najran airport and the Khamis Mushair airbase with ballistic missiles in the same operation.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh (pictured) was attacked again today, according to officials
An urgent evacuation was triggered at the international travel hub as all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled
The wreckage of the Saudia Airlines plane at King Khalid International Airport following an attack on Thursday
On Thursday, the missile strike at the airport set fire to a commercial aircraft belonging to Saudi state carrier Saudia Airlines.
The plane had been parked at the terminal, which is roughly 20 miles north from the capital, and is thought to have been empty.
The airline has since announced the death of Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami.
Earlier, it was reported that no one was onboard the plane.
The Houthis have said airliners should avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.
In separate strikes, Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile had hit a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh.
The strikes follow the reignition of the Yemeni civil war, a conflict that began in 2014 when the militant group attempted to overthrow the country’s government, which is backed by a Saudi Arabian-led military coalition.
The Houthi rebels say they are attacking Saudi Arabia for supporting Yemen’s government, while the Saudis maintain they are only helping the UN-recognised government retake territory.
The Saudis have sought support from the US and other allies as its airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure have come under attack.
Officials said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive.
On Friday, as he left the White House, US President Donald Trump was asked about the attacks on the Riyadh airport and told reporters, ‘It’s not good’ and ‘I’m not happy.’
But there has been no immediate sign of US military support to respond to the attacks.
A thick black column of smoke and flames were shown rising from Riyadh airport on Thursday
The Saudi and Omani foreign ministers spoke by phone about the importance of ‘supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions’ in the region, the kingdom said Saturday.
Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region.
As regional chaos deepens, the kingdom has also requested urgent logistical and defensive support from allies such as Turkey and Pakistan to reverse Houthi gains near the strategic Red Sea entrance.
Media reports indicate Syria is even weighing military aid to assist the Saudis, though Syrian presidential advisers have since denied any plans to deploy troops.
The attacks have prompted a number of carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital, shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences.
Organisers of those conferences said on Saturday they would go ahead as planned, and they sought to reassure attendees of their security.
Yemen’s long-running civil war, which paused with a ceasefire in 2022, has erupted again in recent weeks with the Houthis seizing stretches of the Red Sea coast last month, including along the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Their threats to shipping and attacks on Saudi cities and infrastructure have drawn the kingdom back in.
This week, Saudi-backed forces launched a counterattack, taking back some areas around the strait.
However, in a war with several front lines, the Houthis have made gains of their own, surrounding Yemen’s third-largest city, Taiz, by taking territory along its main mountain road to Aden.
Houthi fighters participating in an offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in Taiz province on October 8
The fighting, which pits the Houthis against a coalition of Saudi-backed forces under the internationally recognised government, has led to a humanitarian crisis in the poorest Arab state, displacing 200,000 people since the conflict resumed.
One US and one Syrian defence official said Syria was carefully considering options for military support, including defensive aid to protect Saudi Arabia from attacks, or an offensive deployment to help take the fight to the Houthis.
In response to a request for comment to the Syrian foreign ministry, a diplomat said Syria stood firmly with Saudi Arabia but that its focus was on domestic priorities such as recovery from its own civil war.
Nato-member Turkey said on Wednesday it was sending mainly defensive and technical support to the kingdom to help in the fight against the Houthis. A Turkish official said this was expected to take the form of military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems.
