Twelve people, including two Bangladeshi nationals, have been killed and 309 injured in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian authorities have said. The assault, which took place on Saturday, was claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi armed group. Airport operations were temporarily suspended following the incident, with incoming flights diverted or cancelled amid heightened security concerns.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out in retaliation for Saudi military operations in Yemen. He also alleged that Saudi strikes had targeted civilian infrastructure.
The latest assault marks the third attack on King Khalid International Airport this week, raising fresh concerns over the security of one of Saudi Arabia’s key aviation hubs.
According to a statement issued by the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation on social media platform X, the 12 fatalities included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
The 309 injured people were taken to hospitals by ambulances and helicopters, according to people familiar with the situation. Hospitals experienced a surge in patients, and some of those injured were reported to be in critical condition.
Witnesses describe panic inside terminal
Passengers and other witnesses described scenes of confusion and distress inside the airport following the explosion. Several people were reportedly left injured on the terminal floor as travellers attempted to reach safety.
A witness who was at the airport on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had seen the explosion and subsequently found several injured people inside the terminal. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading towards the airport, the witness added.
Footage verified by Reuters also showed ambulances at the airport following the incident.
An injured passenger told Reuters, also requesting anonymity, that they had seen something flying through the sky outside the airport. Shortly afterwards, part of the ceiling near an exit gate collapsed, according to the passenger’s account.
Another traveller who witnessed the attack in the domestic terminal told Agence France-Presse that they had been at Gate 403 when the incident occurred at Gate 401.
“I saw injured people with my own eyes. Everyone was running around,” the passenger said, describing the panic that followed the explosion.
The accounts point to the immediate disruption caused by the attack inside the terminal, although the precise nature of the weapon used and the full extent of the damage were not immediately established.
A medical source said health officials had urgently summoned doctors to deal with what was described as a serious emergency. The influx of casualties placed additional pressure on medical services as emergency teams worked to treat those injured.
Airport targeted for the third time this week
Saturday’s assault followed two earlier attacks on King Khalid International Airport during the same week, in which four people were killed. A Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the runway also sustained extensive damage in one of the earlier incidents.
The latest attack was reportedly not preceded by any warning. Saudi Arabia’s threat-detection and alert system did not issue a signal before the incident, according to the information provided.
The absence of an advance warning has raised questions about the effectiveness of the airport’s security arrangements and its ability to detect incoming threats. However, further details about the circumstances surrounding the attack were not immediately available.
The repeated incidents have also heightened concerns about the vulnerability of major aviation facilities during the continuing regional conflict involving Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
Reports of further incidents near key facilities
Hours after the attack in Riyadh, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led international coalition fighting the Houthis said on X that a projectile had struck near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region.
The term ‘projectile’ can refer to a range of airborne weapons or objects, and the coalition’s initial statement did not provide further details about the incident or its consequences.
In the early hours of Sunday, the coalition announced that it had intercepted a missile to the south-east of the Saudi capital. The statement indicated that security forces were continuing to respond to potential aerial threats following the airport attack.
The incidents have added to concerns about the security of Saudi Arabia’s transport infrastructure and the potential for further disruption to civilian aviation. No comprehensive account of the damage or the circumstances surrounding all the reported incidents was immediately available.
Hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation temporarily suspended operations at King Khalid International Airport while officials assessed the damage and reviewed the security situation. The authority said the extent of the damage was being evaluated.
According to flight-tracking service Flightradar24, all flights bound for Riyadh were either diverted to other airports or cancelled following the attack. At one point, a helicopter was observed circling above the airport.
Flightradar24 reported that 155 arriving flights and 161 departing flights were cancelled on Saturday. A further 222 flights experienced delays in either departure or arrival.
The disruption affected a substantial number of passengers and airline operations. Travellers scheduled to arrive in Riyadh or depart from the airport faced cancellations, delays and changes to their itineraries. Passengers connecting through the Saudi capital may also have needed to make alternative arrangements.
Several airlines had already suspended or cancelled services to Riyadh earlier in the week, including on Thursday, amid Houthi attacks and related security concerns.
The latest suspension has underlined the wider consequences that repeated attacks can have on a major international airport. Beyond the immediate threat to passengers and airport staff, prolonged disruption can affect commercial travel, cargo movements and connections to other destinations.
Uncertainty over the resumption of operations
Saudi aviation authorities had not announced a definitive timetable for the full resumption of airport operations in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s attack. The reopening process will depend on the assessment of damage and the authorities’ evaluation of the security risks.
The attack has also drawn attention to the human cost of the violence, with victims from several countries among those killed. The deaths of two Bangladeshi nationals are of particular concern to Bangladesh, although their identities and further personal details were not immediately made public.
Information about arrangements to repatriate the bodies of the two Bangladeshis was also not immediately available.
As emergency services continued their response and authorities assessed the damage, the immediate priorities remained the treatment of those injured, the safety of passengers and airport personnel, and the restoration of normal aviation services.
The sequence of attacks this week has left the future operating situation at Riyadh’s main international airport uncertain, with airlines and passengers facing continued disruption until the authorities determine that services can resume safely.
