Three Saudi citizens have been killed and several other people were wounded in attacks targeting Riyadh airport for which Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility, Saudi officials have said.
The attack late on Thursday was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighbouring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend against the Iran-backed Houthis.
It was also a significant escalation in the latest front in the Iran war, which has kept oil prices and markets jumpy.
The first attack on Thursday afternoon targeted airport facilities, while the second struck aircraft, the Saudi statement said. It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.
Among the dead was Capt Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement. It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national carrier since the new offensive began. A separate Saudia Group statement said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers onboard.
The aviation statement said the injuries to citizens and people of other nationalities “ranged from minor to serious”. The Saudia Group statement said operational activities at the airport returned to normal at 6pm on Thursday, hours after the attack.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed three rocket launch platforms used by the rebels to threaten regional security.
The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for government forces in Yemen’s reignited civil war. Saudi Arabia says it is backing an offensive by Yemen’s UN-recognised government to take back territory from the Houthis.
The Houthis have made a lightning advance across Yemen’s coastal plain over the last month, appearing to gain ground in the south-west on Wednesday as the group approached the city of Taiz.
Independent observers said earlier this week there was danger the group was on course to capture Taiz, with some signs that forces linked to the government were pulling back to secure the major port city of Aden.
Riyadh is due to host a meeting of energy policymakers, the WPC Energy Congress, this week.
