Smoke rises near Riyadh airport after booms and aerial attack alerts

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A large plume of black smoke was visible near Riyadh’s main airport on Saturday after booms were heard and Saudi civil defence issued overnight alerts warning of potential aerial attacks around the capital and Al-Kharj.

Reuters footage showed smoke and flames rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks near the airport, while there was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.

Alerts and reported explosions

Saudi civil defence sent phone alerts overnight warning of potential danger from aerial attacks in Riyadh and Al-Kharj, east of the capital. An all-clear was issued on Saturday morning.

A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya area heard booms before the all-clear alert was sent.

Reuters video and photographs showed a large column of black smoke in the airport area, with the airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities visible in the foreground. Flames were visible at one point behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.

Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the smoke and the alerts.

Escalation involving the Houthis

The alerts were the first issued in Riyadh since an escalation involving Yemen’s Houthi group began in July, although some alerts had been issued earlier this year after the start of the US-Iran war.

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and much of the north, have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July. The group has targeted Saudi vessels in the Red Sea, as well as Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping.

The attacks have created threats to global oil supplies and put at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.

On Friday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had foiled unspecified “criminal attempts” in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia and vowing a response.

The Iran-aligned group, which seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a lightning advance this month, said the Saudi Air Force had carried out hundreds of airstrikes against it in recent days.

UN Security Council statement

The UN Security Council said on Friday that it “condemned in the strongest terms continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children.”