Riyadh Airport Evacuated After Houthi Strike. This Is The Latest In A Series Of Attacks Against Saudi Aviation.
King Khalid International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the Middle East, was evacuated on Saturday after the Iran-backed Yemeni group reportedly attacked Terminal 3 of the transportation hub.
Sources on the ground in Riyadh heard explosions and claimed that dozens were injured in the attack, with at least five Saudi nationals undergoing intensive care, according to AFP. A diplomatic source told the French international news agency that the attack occurred at 3PM local time (8AM eastern time) on Saturday.
“Houthis are attacking civilian targets. Riyadh airport is a civilian target,” the source added.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh said it was “aware” of the attacks and strongly recommended that “all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.” Aviation tracker FlightRadar also shows that all flights to the Saudi capital have either been cancelled or diverted to other destinations.
The attack marks the latest attempt by the Houthis to disrupt Saudi aviation. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Houthis attacked Abha International Airport and King Khalid respectively, killing three non-Saudi Arabian nationals and wounding 36.
On Thursday, the King Khalid facility was struck again in an attack that claimed the lives of three Saudi Arabian nationals, including one pilot who worked for the state airline Saudia.
No deaths have so far been reported as a result of Saturday’s attack, which forms part of a wider recent escalation of the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognized government of Yemen, as well as the Saudi kingdom itself.
The Houthis have attacked Saudi oil and civil infrastructure, seized key territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and declared a maritime embargo against Saudi commercial shipping and ports.
In retaliation, the Saudis and their allies in the Yemeni government launched a major counter-offensive on Monday, codenamed “Operation Dawn of Yemen”. The military operation aims to recapture all Houthi-controlled territory, including the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
Major General Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi intervention in Yemen, reported on Friday that 136 Houthi targets had been targeted as part of the offensive.
The offensive has reaped some territorial rewards; Yemeni government forces recently declared that they had secured the crucial Bab al-Mandab strait, a key global maritime chokepoint through which 12% of global oil supplies flow, after securing territory along the coastline of the strait.
The Houthis had previously taken control of the key waterway in September in a surprise offensive which sent global oil prices skyrocketing.
The conflict is also showing signs of imminent international escalation, as Syria is reportedly considering joining both Pakistan and Turkey in sending military aid to Riyadh and its Yemeni allies to help against the Houthis.
Axios also reported that Damascus could send as many as 20,000 troops to the region, a claim which the Syrian Defense Ministry has refuted.
