Attack on airport in Saudi capital, Riyadh, leaves several injured

The latest attack on King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital has injured several people, according to the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Operations at the airport in Riyadh were temporarily suspended after the attack on Saturday afternoon, said the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Its statement added that officials were assessing the damage and determining the exact number of injuries.

On Thursday, at least three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, were killed in Houthi attacks at the airport, according to GACA.

Those attacks were launched by Yemen’s Houthi group, which is at war with Riyadh and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in Aden.

Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry, reporting from Yemen on Saturday, said the Houthis have yet to claim responsibility for the latest attack.

But the Iran-backed group has warned aviation companies to avoid using Saudi airspace, saying any aircraft operating there – except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina – is a target.

Earlier on Saturday, King Khalid airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check their flight status before heading to the airport amid reports of disruptions to air traffic. The airport did not specify the cause of the disruptions in its initial advisory.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also instructed Saudi citizens travelling to the kingdom to contact local embassies if their travel itineraries have been disrupted following the attack.

Following reports of the latest attack, President Donald Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House whether the United States planned to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.

“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,” he said.

A ‘security situation’

At the same time, foreign embassies in Riyadh, including those of the US, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, issued advisories on social media to their citizens in the kingdom.

The US mission said it was “aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh” and “strongly recommends” all US citizens avoid the airport and surrounding areas.

The British and Irish embassies advised their nationals about “a serious incident” at the airport. Canada’s embassy advised citizens in Riyadh to avoid all travel to the airport, noting “ongoing military activity”.

Japan’s embassy “strongly” condemned Houthi attacks on airports and other Saudi civilian facilities.

Kuwait Airways said it was cancelling flights because the airport had closed due to a “security situation”.

On Thursday, the Houthi military spokesperson said that the Yemeni armed group had launched a ballistic missile towards the airport in Riyadh, claiming that the missile successfully hit its intended target, causing damage and disrupting air traffic.

Days earlier, alleged Houthi attacks on Abha and King Khalid airports killed three civilians and injured 36 others.