Houthis issue new threat to Saudi airspace after deadly Riyadh airport attack

Yemen’s Houthis issued a new threat to Saudi Arabia’s airspace on Sunday after the latest attack on the kingdom’s international airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and wounded hundreds.

Saturday’s attack, the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade, was a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Riyadh backs the internationally recognized government against the Iran-backed Houthis, who captured swaths of Red Sea coastline in a lightning offensive last month.

While the Houthis stopped short of claiming the airport strike, they threatened new attacks on the kingdom’s airports, except for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, warning passengers not to travel.

“The airports and airspace are exposed to targeting and constitute a theater of operations for our forces,” military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X. “We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions.”

The strike came in a week when the group intensified its attacks on the Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport, where three people were also killed on Thursday, as well as other key targets in the world’s largest crude oil exporter.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen attributed Saturday’s attack to the Iran-backed group, calling it a “full-fledged war crime.” A diplomatic source also attributed the strike to a Houthi missile.

The coalition vowed to respond, and on Sunday Houthi media reported that two Saudi strikes had targeted the Sanaa governorate in Yemen, which is controlled by the Houthis.

The assault on the Saudi capital’s aviation hub drew condemnation from a UN special envoy and several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, who said it was “not acceptable” and that he was looking at joining Saudi strikes against 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,” he told reporters at the White House.

Operations suspended at airport through Sunday

Four Saudi citizens were among those killed, as well as two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said. It said some of the 309 wounded were in serious condition.

A Western diplomat based in Riyadh told AFP that the official number of injured did not appear to give a full picture of the aftermath. The number also does not seem to include those who sustained minor wounds, the diplomat said.

Authorities suspended operations at the airport into Sunday, a senior aviation source told AFP, with air traffic monitor Flightradar24 saying the closure was extended until midnight.

A second source working in the aviation sector who helps oversee flights to Riyadh confirmed the halt in operations “until further notice.”

“The information we have is… that some systems have been damaged — the radar and communications equipment,” the source told AFP, adding that runways also needed to be assessed.

One passenger told AFP they witnessed a strike in the airport’s domestic terminal.

“I was on gate 403,” the witness said. “I saw 401 hit, I saw injured in front of my eyes. Everyone was running.”

Western countries urge citizens away from airport

The US, Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia warned their citizens to avoid the airport.

A senior Western diplomat told AFP that several embassies were banning their staff from using the airport “over the next week.”

The Saudi-led coalition also announced on Saturday evening the fall of a projectile near Dammam airport, in the east of the kingdom.

The US embassy in Saudi Arabia on Sunday said staff working in the kingdom would now be required to request permission to use airports in the cities of Dammam and Jeddah, days after a similar order was issued for Riyadh.

The Riyadh attack prompted health officials to activate a rare mass call-up of doctors, a medical source said.

Schools in Riyadh switched to remote learning for the second time in a month, according to emails seen by AFP that were received by parents.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen called the strike a “dangerous escalation,” while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the “heinous attack” and Jordan called it “brutal.”

It was the deadliest attack in the kingdom since May 2015, when a suicide bombing by the Islamic State jihadist group killed 21 worshipers in the eastern Qatif governorate. It also came on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s high-profile convention and entertainment season.

Riyadh usually hosts a packed calendar of events, including its flagship investment conference, drawing foreign leaders and business titans. The WPC Energy Congress kicked off in Riyadh on Sunday after being delayed due to the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February.

It was not immediately clear whether the participants would attend in person or virtually.

A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum is also set to go ahead on Sunday, with its plenary session to be held behind closed doors, according to a media advisory. No further details were immediately available.

Saudi-backed forces claim advance, which Houthis deny

Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has supported Yemen’s government militarily since 2015.

In Yemen, Saudi-supported government forces were advancing against the Houthis in areas the group captured last month around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key chokepoint for Red Sea oil and cargo shipping, military sources told AFP on Saturday.

The Houthis claimed to have repelled them.

The Yemeni government last week announced a counteroffensive to retake Houthi territory.

Claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify, with the situation moving fast on the ground and access for journalists difficult.