One killed, 11 wounded in new attack on Riyadh airport

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday left one person dead and 11 injured, Saudi authorities said. It followed a Saturday strike claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis that killed 13 people and injured more than 300.

Terminal fire and interceptions

The Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen said an unidentified projectile targeted Terminal 4 at Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday and started a fire. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority reported the death and injuries.

Coalition forces separately reported intercepting a cruise missile near King Khalid International Airport. They subsequently said they had intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Eastern Province and intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards Khamis Mushait.

Saudi Civil Defense said emergency alerts were issued early Monday in the southern city of Abha, but the threat had passed.

Dammam airport strike confirmed

Late Sunday, the Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam had been struck. It said work to assess damage and inspect the safety of airport facilities was continuing.

A witness travelling on an aircraft that was taxiing at Dammam told Reuters they saw a projectile hit the tarmac near several parked aircraft at around 8:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday, starting a fire. According to the witness, the aircraft went back to its gate, where passengers got off and were instructed to leave.

In a Sunday address broadcast on television, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Saturday’s Riyadh attack. He also said the group had hit Dammam’s airport in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and two facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco 2222.SE.

Neither Aramco nor the Saudi government’s media office replied to requests seeking comment.

Saturday attack and Yemen conflict

Video of Saturday’s Riyadh airport attack released by Saudi state television showed scores of religious pilgrims queuing at a gate before travelling to the two sites considered holiest in Islam. An orange flash sent them fleeing in panic, and sections of the roof appeared to collapse.

The airport shut following that attack, which was the kingdom’s deadliest in over a decade.

The strikes exposed weaknesses in Saudi Arabia’s defensive capabilities while the kingdom conducts an air campaign against the Houthis. The group is also fighting on the ground in Yemen against the Yemeni government backed by Saudi Arabia.