Riyadh extends airport closure after deadly strike

Saudi Arabia yesterday kept its main international airport closed and moved Riyadh schools online as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threatened new airstrikes across the kingdom, a day after a missile attack killed 12 people and wounded more than 300.

Saturday’s strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh marked a major escalation in the war between Yemen’s Iran’s-backed Houthis and the kingdom, and further complicated sputtering efforts to halt the US-Iran war. US President Donald Trump said he was considering whether to join Saudi Arabian strikes against the rebels, a scenario that could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through a crucial waterway and further restrict the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.

The attack was condemned by other countries, with Russia saying hostilities needed to end “through political and diplomatic means,” and German Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul describing it as “a terrorist act against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation.”

People gather outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday.

Photo: AP

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “heinous attack” and stressed “total solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, saying it would continue “to remain by its side in its defence of its territory and its infrastructure,” calling on the Houthis to cease their attacks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed the country’s commitment to Saudi Arabian sovereignty, and said attacks “targeting civilians and vital infrastructure are utterly unacceptable and pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability.”

The US also said it “strongly condemns” the attacks, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the attacks “must stop now.”

Saudi Arabian authorities said schools in the capital would hold classes online until the end of the week.

The attack struck an airport complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The dead included four Saudi Arabian citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese, a Saudi Arabian statement said.