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Explosions Rock Riyadh's International Airport Amid Houthi Attack, Travelers Evacuate

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Authored...

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has come under Houthi attack once again on Thursday, and may have suffered a hit, as eyewitnesses have told Reuters of smoke rising from an aircraft at the major travel hub in the Saudi capital.

Witnesses were also cited in The Associates Press as having heard "several explosions" - after which an urgent evacuation notice was given.

The Houthis in Yemen have been going after airports as well as Aramco oil facilities. In two separate attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, the kingdom's Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport were targeted by Houthi missiles.

The AP details of the Thursday flight stoppage in Riyadh as follows:

King Khalid International Airport “closed again,” the Flightradar24 monitor said Thursday afternoon on X not long after the blasts. “Last landing 80+ minutes ago. Last take off 90+ minutes ago.”

Fire and ambulance crews deployed and smoke was visible, the witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The witness said outgoing flights were halted and passengers were instructed to leave checked-in luggage behind and evacuate. It was not immediately clear how many flights were disrupted.

The prior 72 hours has seen three civilians killed and 36 injured in Houthi-claimed attacks across Saudi Arabia. "An Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, and a Sudanese national was killed at the airport in Riyadh, the agency said, with 36 people wounded in the attacks," Middle East Eye details.

On Thursday, Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said his forces intercepted and destroyed a pair of Houthi ballistic missiles on Riyadh and towards Khamis Mushait.

As for the latest airport attack, which has reportedly shut down the international hub, the Houthis are claiming responsibility and say there was a direct hit and damage, while Saudi authorities have remained silent in the initial hours.

All of this, plus last evening's headlines that President Trump is mulling a new bombing raid on Iran possibly before the November midterm elections, has pushed oil prices higher throughout the Thursday morning hours...

Over in Yemen, fighting has intensified in the Taiz region and in rural areas. Al Jazeera details:

Fighting is raging in al-Shamayatayn, al-Maafer and the southern and western countryside of Taiz governorate.

The Houthis are pushing into rural areas that have not seen conflict for years, aiming to open a supply route because their lines towards al-Kadaha and al-Waziiya, which link Aden, Lahij and Taiz, are nearly cut off by advancing government forces.

Those forces are moving towards al-Waziiya and the Kahboub Mountains overlooking Bab al-Mandeb.

Government forces expected a dangerous escalation over the next 48 hours after the defense minister said Houthi-held areas will be recaptured soon. Government forces reported more than 2,000 operations, including attacks, supply line cuts, repelled attacks and territory retaken.

The three deaths reported by the Saudis on Wednesday are the first civilian deaths reported in the kingdom since the conflict with the Houthis was renewed several weeks ago.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely going to press allies harder to join the counteroffensive against the Houthis in Yemen, after Pakistan and Turkey have announced defense assistance based on the Mecca Defense Pact.

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