Dozens of people injured, at least five hospitalized in intensive care and the airport evacuated. This is the first assessment of the attack that hit the King Khalid international airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday 10 October. According to an informed diplomatic source, quoted by AFP (Agency France Presse), the airport was reached by a missile launched by the Houthis, the Yemeni movement supported by Iran. Saudi authorities have not yet confirmed the attack.
The strong explosion was reported by witnesses interviewed by Reuters, whose news was relaunched by the Times of Israel. The AFP subsequently reported the evacuation of the airport. According to the diplomatic source, the missile hit around 3pm local time, 2pm in Italy. “The Houthis are attacking civilian targets. Riyadh airport is a civilian target,” he said.
Dozens injured, some transferred by helicopter
A source at a hospital in the Saudi capital told AFP that dozens of people, mostly Saudi citizens, were injured in the attack. “At least five of the injured, all Saudi citizens, are in intensive care,” he explained, adding that some patients were transported by helicopter.
A witness quoted by Reuters saw more than a dozen ambulances heading towards the airport. Videos are also circulating on social media showing traces of blood on the floor of the airport.
Shortly before the evacuation, the airport had urged travelers to “contact the airline and confirm flight status before traveling to the airport.” A similar message was released on Thursday, when the airport had already been the target of Houthi attacks.
The embassies of Germany, Canada and Spain in Saudi Arabia have meanwhile advised their citizens to avoid transit through Riyadh airport.
Previous attacks and the resumption of war in Yemen
The new episode comes the day after the announcement of the deaths of three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, in two attacks which occurred on Thursday 8 October. The Houthis had claimed responsibility for two operations against the capital’s airport. Three other people were killed in attacks on two Saudi airports on October 6 and 7.
The escalation accompanies the resumption of fighting in Yemen between government forces supported by Riyadh and the Houthis, who control much of the country’s northwest. The movement claims to target Saudi Arabia for its support of the Yemeni government in the civil war.
The clash intensified after a rapid offensive with which the Houthis conquered strategic stretches of the Red Sea coast, including the port of Mokha, near the Bab al-Mandab strait: one of the most important passages for global maritime traffic. Pro-government forces later announced they had secured the strait. But the escalation of the war seems, at the moment, unstoppable.