Worst attack to date on Riyadh airport

Iran war

Worst attack to date on Riyadh airport – twelve dead

Smoke, chaos and panic: Videos show travelers fleeing through destroyed halls after the deadly attack on Riyadh airport. Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming a frontline in the war in the region.

In the heaviest attack to date on the international Airport According to official information, at least twelve people were killed and more than 300 others injured in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. It is the highest number of victims in an attack on the with the USA Allied Gulf state since the start of the Iran war at the end of February. Riyadh made the Houthi militia im Yemen responsible, threatening new attacks in the kingdom.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show scenes after the attack. Among other things, you can see a destroyed airport hall and how travelers rush through thick smoke to get to safety. The authenticity of the videos could not be verified. Dark clouds of smoke rose after an explosion at a terminal. Just on Thursday, three people were killed in an attack on the airport.

The attack on one of the passenger terminals was an “outright war crime,” said the Riyadh-led military alliance fighting the Houthis in Yemen. The alliance will “respond decisively to this terrorist attack,” said alliance spokesman Turki al-Maliki. The Houthi militia did not immediately comment on the attack in Riyadh.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” and said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violated international law. President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a “dangerous escalation” and warned: “The attacks by Iran’s proxies are driving the region into a spiral of violence.”

King Khalid Airport is one of the largest airports in the Gulf region in terms of passenger volume. Riyadh, along with Jeddah on the Red Sea, is the political and economic center of Saudi Arabia. The Air traffic was initially discontinued until Sunday evening at midnight (local time, 11 p.m. CEST). The US mission in the country called on compatriots to avoid the airport and surrounding areas.

The Houthis, who control large areas of northern Yemen, threatened new attacks. Saudi airports and Saudi airspace are “legitimate targets,” said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari – with the exception of sites holy to Muslims Mecca and Medina. People were urged to take these warnings seriously.

Saudi Arabia has been fighting with allies in Yemen against Shiite rebels supported by Iran for more than ten years. This civil war, in which hundreds of thousands of deaths are expected as a result of the direct and indirect consequences of the war, flared up again in the wake of the Iran War. The USA – one of Saudi Arabia’s most important allies – could also begin new military strikes in Yemen, as in 2024 and 2025.

US President Donald Trump said such steps are currently being considered. He stressed: “We have just learned about the latest attack, so we will make a decision. We are acting very quickly.” Just a few weeks ago, according to US media reports, Trump decided against new air strikes in Yemen – despite requests from Saudi Arabia. The USA has troops stationed in the kingdom and is also the most important arms supplier.

With the Houthi attacks, the war will “soon become even bigger,” wrote political scientist Vali Nasr from Johns Hopkins University in the USA. “If there was no appetite for a long campaign against the Houthis before, this terrorist attack will change that,” wrote Gulf expert Aziz Alghashian of the Gulf International Forum think tank.