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Attacks claimed by Houthi rebels killed three civilians and injured 36 at two Saudi airports this week, according to the Associated Press, and a new blast hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Thursday.
Saudi civil aviation officials said the earlier attacks struck Abha International Airport and King Khalid International. At Abha, two women, a Moroccan and an Algerian, were killed and 28 people were hurt. At the Riyadh airport, a Sudanese citizen died and eight were injured, including five Saudis, Al Jazeera reported. The US embassy in Riyadh issued another security alert urging American citizens to exercise heightened vigilance.
On Thursday, a witness told the AP that several explosions were heard in Riyadh, including a large blast at King Khalid. Fire and ambulance crews were deployed and smoke was visible. Outgoing flights were halted, and passengers were told to leave checked luggage behind and evacuate. Flightradar24 said the airport had "closed again."
The Houthis said a ballistic missile caused damage but offered no evidence. Saudi authorities had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and a third aimed at Khamis Mushait, near the Yemen border.
Early Thursday, the Houthis warned global airlines "for the last time" about operating in Saudi airspace. The group described the airspace as a theater for its military operations.
The deaths were the first since Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces launched a major ground and air offensive to retake territory the Houthis seized a month earlier along Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The airports have been under pressure for weeks. On September 18, coalition forces said they destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile fired toward the Riyadh airport. The next day, an explosion was heard near the site and black smoke rose from a fuel storage area.
Yemen's government said the Houthis also fired ballistic missiles and drones at Aden airport early Wednesday, with no casualties reported. Oil prices rose again after the Thursday blasts. Britain, India and the United Arab Emirates were among those that condemned the Wednesday attacks, citing fears of escalation.
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