Houthi strikes hit Riyadh airport again as death toll from Saturday attack reaches 13

A projectile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, killing one Pakistani resident and wounding 11 others, Saudi civil aviation authorities said. The strike came less than 24 hours after an earlier attack on the same airport killed 13 people, including one Indian national who died of injuries, and wounded 309.

Saudi authorities extended the closure of the airport until Monday evening. Flights remained diverted. Air defences intercepted another missile nearby, the Saudi-led coalition said. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for strikes on Riyadh and Dammam airports over the preceding day, along with two Saudi Aramco facilities.

Saturday’s attack, the third on King Khalid this week, was the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. India’s embassy confirmed that one of its citizens injured on Saturday later died. Bangladesh confirmed two of its nationals among the fatalities.

The Saudi-led coalition called the Saturday strike a war crime and said it would respond under customary international humanitarian law. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the “horrific terrorist attack.”

Riyadh suspended in-person classes at schools in the capital and shifted them to remote learning until Thursday. More than 2.7 million Indians live in Saudi Arabia. The Indian government said the death of its citizen was unacceptable and that it was assisting affected nationals.

The strikes form part of an escalation that began after a ceasefire in the Yemen war unravelled. The Houthis, backed by Iran, have targeted Saudi airports and energy sites while Saudi-backed forces fight them on the ground in Yemen. Earlier attacks this week on the same airport killed three Saudis, including a pilot, and damaged a commercial aircraft on the tarmac.

Saudi civil aviation authority statements put the wounded from Saturday at 309, some in critical condition. Hospitals in Riyadh received the injured. Witnesses described people running from gates after the impact. Property damage is still being assessed.

The United States has signalled it may increase military involvement. Travel advisories for Saudi Arabia have been raised by several countries, including South Korea. Conferences in Riyadh continued despite the strikes, according to the Saudi tourism ministry.

The pattern of repeated hits on the same civilian airport within days has exposed gaps in Saudi air defences at a time when the kingdom is also conducting airstrikes in Yemen. One such strike on Sanaa on Sunday killed a child and wounded seven, according to Houthi media.

For the families of the 13 dead and hundreds injured, the immediate question is whether further projectiles will reach the terminal before the airport reopens. Saudi authorities have not announced a date for the resumption of commercial operations.