Three Saudi citizens were killed and several other people “of different nationalities” were wounded in attacks targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia Airlines aircraft, the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said Friday.
Thursday’s attack was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend aimed at retaking territory seized by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
It was a significant escalation in what appears to be the new epicenter of the wider war in the Middle East sparked by the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran in late February.
The first attack Thursday afternoon targeted airport facilities, while the second struck the aircraft, which was empty at the time, the Saudi statement said. It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis have claimed to target the airport repeatedly this week with ballistic missiles, including on Thursday.
Among the dead was Capt. Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement seen by the Associated Press. It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national carrier since the new offensive against the Houthis began.
The Saudi aviation agency, GACA, said in its statement that injuries to citizens and people of other nationalities “ranged from minor to serious.”
The Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they have declared a theater for military operations.
On Wednesday, Saudi officials said attacks on the Riyadh and Abha airports claimed by the Houthis had killed three people.
CBS/AP
