Cairo, Oct 11. (dpa/GNA) – At least 12 people were killed in an attack on the main airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.
The attack on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, injured 309 others, who were being treated in several hospitals, the authority said in a statement on X early on Sunday.
Some of the injured were in a critical condition, it added. Those killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese, the authority said.
The attack had caused property damage, the extent of which was being assessed, the authority said.
Airport operations were suspended while authorities evaluated the damage and conducted safety inspections.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attack.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the attack was a terrorist act and would be met with a firm response.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the US strongly condemned recent attacks by the Houthi militia. “These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now,” he wrote on X. “We stand with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and extend our condolences to the victims and their families.”
UN Secretary General AntĆ³nio Guterres, said he was deeply shocked by the attack. “Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a violation of international law. These attacks must cease immediately,” he wrote on X.
German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, strongly condemned the attack, describing it as an “act of terrorism” against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation. āOur thoughts are with the victims, and I offer my deepest condolences to their families,ā Wadephul wrote on X.
This was latest in a string of attacks, targeting the oil-rich kingdom’s aviation facilities. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia has stepped up missile and drone attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia in the past several weeks, and has previously claimed responsibility for hits on Riyadh airport and other facilities in the kingdom.
Earlier this week, Saudi aviation authorities said the airport had been targeted in two attacks on Thursday, killing three Saudi nationals and injuring several others.
The strikes come as fighting intensifies between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in war-torn Yemen.
The Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government for more than a decade.
A truce reached in 2022 largely froze the conflict, but failed to pave the way for a lasting peace.
Fighting has recently flared up again against the backdrop of the wider war involving Iran, further deepening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, has previously blamed the Houthis for attacks on civilian facilities in the kingdom, and launched retaliatory strikes against rebel targets in Yemen.
GNA