Saudi Arabia has claimed it intercepted a missile targeted at Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday.
The attack comes just one day after a Houthi strike killed 12 and injured hundreds more at King Khalid International Airport, in what has been described as a serious escalation in the war between the two sides.
The Saudi-led coalition against the Iran-backed rebel group said its air defences intercepted a projectile in the capital city this afternoon.
It is believed that Riyadh’s main airport was the intended target.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki said the projectile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport, causing a fire.
He added that air defences also ‘intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile’ in the vicinity of the airport.
It comes after Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned passengers this morning against using Saudi airports after a missile attack on Riyadh airport killed 12 and injured more than 300.
The strike, the deadliest on the kingdom since the US began its war with Iran, hit a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport on Saturday.
The attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh left 12 dead and more than 300 injured
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
The Saudis vowed to retaliate, accusing the Iran-backed terror group of carrying out a ‘full-fledged war crime‘.
The attack is part of an unprecedented wave of Houthi strikes on the kingdom after a truce agreed with Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government unravelled in July.
In a statement, the rebels warned that airports in the kingdom were regarded as ‘potential targets and sites for operations by our forces’.
Military spokesman Yahya Saree urged ‘everyone to take our warnings seriously’, adding that Saudi Arabia ‘bears responsibility’ for failing to intercept its missiles.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the Houthis’ attack as a ‘contemptible’ and ‘dangerous’ escalation in the war between the two sides.
He told Sky News: ‘What we’ve seen overnight is a dangerous escalation and I’m afraid an increasing pattern of behaviour from the Houthis that’s targeting civilian sites in Saudi Arabia.
‘This is completely contemptible action and it’s one of the reasons why the UK is providing support to Saudi Arabia in the form of air defences, but also air-to-air refuelling.
‘We want to see an end to this conflict. It cannot be right that the Houthis are attacking civilian targets in this way.’
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen joined the chorus of condemnation today as she too labelled the attacks a ‘dangerous escalation’ while calling on the Houthis to halt strikes on civilian targets.
She said: ‘These attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence.
‘They are destabilising crucial global transport and energy nodes with shockwaves sent through the world. These murderous attacks at civilians must stop at once.’
She added that the EU stands in ‘solidarity with Saudi Arabia’.
Meanwhile Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: ‘I condemn in the strongest possible terms the horrific terrorist attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of 12 innocent people and injured hundreds more.
‘On behalf of the people of Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those murdered and our wishes for a full recovery to the injured.
‘Terrorism targets innocent people and seeks to spread fear and instability. It must be confronted with resolve.’
The ongoing bloodshed has raised the possibility of a wider escalation, with Donald Trump signalling that the US could join military action against the rebels.
Four Saudi citizens were among the dead in the attack, including a captain with the national airline as well as two Bangladeshis, one US citizen, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese.
It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national carrier since the new offensive began.
Saudia Group said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground but no passengers were on board. Some of the 309 wounded were in serious condition.
An eyewitness at the terminal said: ‘I was on gate 403. I saw 401 hit, I saw injured in front of my eyes. Everyone was running.’
Operations at the airport were suspended following the attack and authorities said damage assessments were continuing.
Flights continue to be suspended today, with a senior aviation source in the Saudi capital saying: ‘Riyadh airport has suspended operations again today. They informed us of this at dawn.’
The attack prompted health officials to activate a rare mass call-up of doctors to deal with the ‘serious emergency situation’, a medical source said.
Two doctors said several pilgrims headed to Mecca had been among the wounded.
Foreign embassies warned their citizens to avoid the airport.
Saudi coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki described the strike as a ‘cowardly terrorist attack’ against a civilian facility.
He said: ‘The cowardly terrorist attack by the Terrorist Houthi Militia… which resulted in deaths and injuries among civilian passengers and airport staff, constitutes a full-fledged war crime.’
Earlier, the coalition said it had intercepted missiles targeting Saudi Arabia and destroyed launch platforms.
The Houthis claimed a series of strikes targeting the airport on Thursday that killed three people and damaged a passenger jet, although they did not immediately take responsibility for any new attacks on Saturday.
Saturday’s attack was the deadliest in the kingdom since May 2015, when an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 21 worshippers in a Shia mosque in the eastern Qatif governorate.
The civil war in Yemen flared back to life in July after a four-year, UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider Middle East war that has rocked the region and roiled energy supplies and markets.
A thick black column of smoke and flames could be seen rising from Riyadh airport
Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has supported Yemen’s government militarily since 2015 and is now being drawn deeper into its impoverished neighbour’s conflict.
Donald Trump hinted on Saturday that Washington could intervene militarily to launch attacks on the Houthis.
Asked whether he had changed his mind about joining Saudi strikes on the group, the President said: ‘We may. We’re going to look at it.
‘We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.’
Mr Trump said he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling what happened in Saudi Arabia ‘not acceptable‘.
He told reporters: ‘It’s not good… I’m not happy.’
US media outlets have reported that previous Saudi requests for US military assistance in dealing with the Houthis have been rebuffed.
The US, Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia warned their citizens to avoid the airport.
A senior Western diplomat said several embassies were banning their staff from using the airport ‘over the next week’.
The latest attack came on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s high-profile convention and entertainment season, which begins this month.
Riyadh usually hosts a packed calendar of events, including its flagship investment conference drawing foreign leaders and business titans.
The latest incident at Riyadh’s international airport triggered an urgent evacuation after two attacks earlier in the week left four people dead.
Witnesses saw multiple casualties lying injured on the ground as more than a dozen rushed to the airport, while residents reported hearing two huge explosions.
People gather outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after the latest attack by Houthi rebels left 12 dead and over 300 injured
Near the airport, passengers carrying luggage could be seen standing on the pavement at a metro station
Houthi fighters participating in an offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in Taiz province on October 8
The British embassy told citizens to avoid the airport, saying there had been a ‘serious incident’, and the US embassy warned citizens to stay away.
The Houthis have not issued a statement about the attack but have claimed responsibility for the incidents 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.
On Thursday, a 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 of the capital, and is thought to have been empty.
Three Saudi citizens were killed, with Saudia Airlines confirming one was Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami.
A strike on the airport on Wednesday killed a Sudanese national.
In separate strikes, Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile had hit a school 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.
In recent weeks they have seized stretches of the Red Sea coast, including along the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, although the Saudis have reclaimed some of the areas.
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.
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.
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.
