MIDDLE EAST. Two deadly attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh – which Saudi Arabia blamed on the Iran-backed Houthi armed political and religious group in Yemen – have killed 14 people and injured 319.
A second strike on Sunday caused a fire in one of the airport’s passenger halls and killed one person.
That followed an attack a day earlier, which killed 13 people and injured 308, following other strikes earlier in the week.
The Moodie Davitt Report has been in touch with airport and travel retail stakeholders and will bring you updates as appropriate.
Riyadh Airports Company (RAC) Chief Commercial Officer Abdulaziz Al-Asaker told The Moodie Davitt Report that the RAC team was safe and well. “May Allah rest the departed souls in peace,” he said in expressing his deep sympathy for those lost.
The first attack was the deadliest single strike on a Gulf Arab country since the war between Israel, the USA and Iran began in February, news agencies reported.
The dead include four Saudi nationals, two from Bangladesh and one each from the USA, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said.
While not claiming responsibility for this latest attack, the Houthis issued a warning to airline companies to not use Saudi airports. They claimed these are “potential targets and sites for operations by our forces”.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by the attacks, which he called a violation of international law that “must cease immediately”.
The attacks underline the vulnerability of strategically important airports and air corridors in a region that serves as a critical crossroads for global travel and tourism.
More on this story will follow soon. ✈
