Missile strike kills 12, wounds 309 at Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport; Saudi-led coalition vows response

A missile struck the domestic terminals at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon, killing 12 people and wounding 309, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said early Sunday. Four of the dead were Saudi citizens. The others were two Bangladeshis and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Some of the injured remain in critical condition. The airport, which serves a city of roughly eight million, suspended operations and diverted flights. More than 600 flights were cancelled or diverted.

This was the third attack on the same airport in one week. Earlier strikes on Thursday killed three people, including a Saudia pilot, and damaged a commercial aircraft on the tarmac. Additional incidents hit Abha and other sites in the preceding days. Saudi-led coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki called the Saturday strike a “cowardly terrorist attack” and a “full-fledged war crime” against a civilian facility. The coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthi forces and said it would respond.

A senior Houthi media figure posted on X that the group had “shut down Riyadh international airport.” The Houthis have claimed earlier strikes this week but had not issued a formal claim for Saturday’s attack by early Sunday. Witnesses described hearing an explosion near gates serving terminals 3 and 4. One passenger at gate 403 told AFP he saw people injured in front of him as others ran.

Hospitals activated a mass call-up of doctors. Casualties arrived by ambulance and helicopter. The attack occurred without a public warning from Saudi threat systems, according to local reporting. Riyadh schools later shifted to remote learning, and authorities extended the airport closure at least through Sunday while damage assessments continued.

The strikes come after a truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government collapsed in July. Fighting has intensified on the ground in Yemen, and the Houthis have launched an increased number of long-range attacks on Saudi territory. The Saudi-led coalition has responded with air strikes. On Sunday the Houthi-run health ministry said 91 Yemenis had been killed and 168 injured by coalition action over five weeks, with 60 percent of the dead women and children. Independent verification of that figure is not available.

U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the attack and said he was evaluating whether the United States should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that an American citizen was among the dead. The mix of nationalities among the victims includes workers and travellers who use the airport regularly. One of the Egyptians was identified by Egyptian state media as a 28-year-old flight attendant named Azza Ramzy working for a Saudi carrier.

King Khalid International Airport is Saudi Arabia’s second-busiest. Its temporary closure disrupts domestic travel across the kingdom and international connections through the capital. Oil markets registered an upward move in prices after the attack, reflecting concern over further escalation in a region already affected by the broader Iran-related conflict and the earlier closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The previous deadliest attack inside Saudi Arabia in recent years occurred in May 2015. The current series of strikes has exposed gaps in the kingdom’s layered air defences against ballistic missiles and drones fired from Yemen. Coalition forces reported additional attacks overnight Saturday in Dammam and Al-Kharj.

As of Sunday morning, no new large-scale response strikes had been publicly confirmed, but the coalition’s statement left little ambiguity about its intention. Flights remained suspended, and authorities advised passengers to contact airlines before travelling. The precise type of munition used on Saturday has not been detailed beyond the description of a missile. Damage assessments of the terminal complex are ongoing.

The attack raises the immediate cost of the Yemen conflict for Saudi civilians and foreign residents while testing the willingness of the United States and other partners to deepen their involvement. Further strikes or a broader military response would affect shipping, energy infrastructure and regional travel corridors already under strain.