A missile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon, wounding dozens of people and forcing the closure of one of the Middle East's major aviation hubs.
The attack occurred around 3 p.m. local time, according to regional officials and Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation. Two regional officials confirmed the strike and subsequent evacuation, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Dozens of people sustained injuries in the blast, with some suffering serious wounds. A medical source at a Riyadh hospital said the facility received dozens of casualties, most of them Saudi nationals, with at least five admitted to intensive care units. Some wounded were transported by helicopter. Ambulances were seen rushing toward the airport following the strike, with more than 12 observed heading to the facility by witnesses and informed sources.
Evacuations were underway at sections of the airport as panic spread among travelers. One witness reported seeing injured people near gate 401. The airport was closed following the attack, and flights to Riyadh were diverted to other destinations, according to Flightradar24, the flight tracking service. The last flight had landed at 2:05 p.m. before diversions began nearly four hours later. Kuwait Airways announced it was canceling flights due to the airport closure.
The strike prompted immediate travel warnings from multiple governments. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh advised American citizens to avoid King Khalid International Airport and recommended that they reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to the possibility of Iranian targeting of American interests in the country. The British Embassy similarly recommended that its nationals avoid the airport. Canada's embassy issued an advisory to its citizens, recommending they avoid all travel to the airport and citing "ongoing military activity" in the area. Egypt's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.
A diplomatic source attributed the attack to Houthi forces backed by Iran. The strike marked another assault on the airport, which has been targeted multiple times in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against Iran-backed forces. The attack came two days after three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, were killed in a previous assault on the kingdom as it faces what officials described as an extraordinary series of attacks in a new front of the Iran war.