Three Saudi nationals killed in attacks on Riyadh airport, aviation authority says

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Friday that three Saudi nationals ​were killed and several people were injured in ‌two attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday.

In a statement on X, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said the ​first attack targeted airport facilities, while the second ​struck an aircraft belonging to Saudi state carrier Saudia.

The ⁠injuries ranged from minor to severe, and the attacks ​caused material damage, it said, adding that airport operations had ​resumed and air traffic had returned to normal.

Yemen’s  Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked the airport with two cruise missiles.

The group also ​said it had targeted an airport in the southwestern city ​of Najran, a claim Saudi authorities have not confirmed, and an airbase ‌in ⁠Khamis Mushait with ballistic missiles.

The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for government forces in Yemen’s reignited civil war. Saudi Arabia says it is backing ​an offensive by ​Yemen’s UN-recognised ⁠government to take back territory from the Houthis.

The latest confirmed casualties come after Saudi authorities ​said on Wednesday that three people were killed in ​earlier ⁠strikes this week on Riyadh airport and Abha airport in the southwest of the country.

The conflict, now an overspill of the ⁠US-Iran ​war, has stoked further upheaveal in ​a region already destabilised by the wider war, and threatens to draw other ​states into mountain fighting.