Riyadh Airport Hit by Second Strike in 24 Hours
A projectile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, less than a day after a missile strike killed 12 people there.
King Khalid International Airport has been hit again. A Saudi-led military coalition said Sunday that a projectile struck a passenger terminal at the Riyadh airport, less than a day after a missile strike there killed 12 people.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted a cruise missile near the airport. There was no immediate word on casualties from the latest strike, which the coalition said hit the complex housing Terminals 3 and 4.
AFP journalists reported hearing a powerful explosion in central Riyadh on Sunday. Three residents in the north of the city reported hearing another blast. The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear.
Saudi health officials issued a rare mass call-up of doctors after the latest strike, according to a medical source.
The coalition also said it intercepted a drone in the country’s Eastern province on Sunday. On Saturday, it said a projectile had landed near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
Airport closed, flights canceled
The airport has been closed through Sunday night. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 said 271 departing flights had been canceled by early Sunday, accounting for 73 percent of departures listed for the day.
The Saudi embassy in Kuwait said it would bus Saudi citizens home whose flights had been canceled.
The United States embassy in Riyadh urged Americans to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. Embassy employees now need special authorization to use airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Australia told its citizens in Riyadh to shelter in place. Britain advised against non-essential travel to Riyadh province and several other parts of Saudi Arabia.
Warnings and retaliation
The Houthi rebels warned airlines, airport workers and travelers not to use Saudi airports, saying the airports had become “a theater of operations.” Airports in Mecca and Medina were exempted, the group said.
The Houthi-run foreign ministry said Sunday that further Saudi military action would provoke a stronger response. “Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come,” the ministry said, in remarks carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.
On Saturday, the coalition said the deadly missile strike killed 12 people, including nationals of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said 309 people were wounded.
President Trump has said he is weighing whether the United States should join military operations against the Houthis. He said Saturday evening that he plans to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
