Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12 and injures more than 300

A Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, has killed at least 12 people and injured 309, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority says.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation said early on Sunday that the attack late on Saturday 10 October killed four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Some of the injured were in a critical condition. The Wall Street Journal described it as the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

Operations at the airport were suspended while officials assessed the damage.

A week of attacks

It was the third Houthi attack on the airport this week. Attacks on Thursday killed at least three Saudi citizens, including a pilot. Earlier in the week, the Houthis also claimed attacks on Abha International Airport in the south of the country.

The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have declared Saudi airspace a zone of military operations since the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against them on Monday. They have warned airlines that any aircraft in Saudi airspace, except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is a target. The head of the Houthi media office said the group had "shut down Riyadh international airport".

"A full-fledged war crime"

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen called the attack "a full-fledged war crime". Its spokesperson, Major General Turki al-Malki, said the coalition would "respond decisively". He also said a projectile had fallen near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said: "These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now." Asked whether the US would join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, President Donald Trump said: "We may. We're going to look at it."

Advice for British travellers

The UK embassy in Riyadh advised British nationals of "a serious incident" at the airport, and other embassies told their citizens to avoid it. Airlines including Kuwait Airways cancelled flights. Anyone due to travel to or through Saudi Arabia should check the latest Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice and contact their airline before setting off.

The wider conflict

The Iran-backed Houthis have been at war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, based in Aden, for more than a decade. The latest escalation comes against the background of the war involving Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea and pushed up energy prices around the world. Saudi Arabia had been preparing to welcome visitors to Riyadh for major international events this month, including an energy congress.

Qatar condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" as "a direct threat to the security of the region", and Jordan and Oman expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia.