Saudi Arabia extends Riyadh airport shutdown after 12 killed

Saudi Arabia kept Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport shut until at least 21:00 on Oct. 11 after an Oct. 10 missile attack killed 12 people and injured more than 300, the Associated Press reported.

For Saudi Arabia, the shutdown hit its main international gateway and an economy AP identified as the world’s top oil exporter. The AP report said the 12 deaths made the Oct. 10 strike the deadliest in a Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war.

The Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthis for the attack, AP reported. There was no immediate statement from the group after the strike, though the Houthis earlier accused Saudi Arabia of hitting Sanaa International Airport in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital.

A Saudi-led coalition statement called the Riyadh airport attack a “fully-fledged war crime” and vowed a firm response, AP reported. The report said the airport has no military facilities.

United States President Donald Trump said Washington was considering whether to join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said.

The Saudi statement said those killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a United States citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese, according to AP. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged in a social-media post that an American citizen had been killed and condemned the attack.

The missile hit an airport complex containing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official told AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly. Airport operations were suspended Saturday, and authorities later extended the closure, according to Flightradar 24.

The escalation followed several attacks during the week on King Khalid International Airport. AP reported that the Houthis claimed earlier attacks that killed three Saudis, including a pilot.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have fought since 2015, when the kingdom intervened in Yemen’s civil war in support of the internationally recognized government. A period of relative calm after a 2022 ceasefire ended in July, when the Houthis resumed attacks after saying Saudi forces had fired on Sanaa airport as a plane from Iran tried to land.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said Oct. 11 that Saudi-led coalition operations had killed 91 Yemenis and injured 168 over five weeks, AP reported. The ministry said women and children accounted for 60% of those killed.

AP said the attacks have pushed up oil prices and unsettled markets, though the report gave no price level or percentage move. Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines were among carriers that had suspended flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods before the latest strike.

Saudi Arabia has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to the region, regional officials told AP last month. The airport closure was extended until at least 21:00 on Oct. 11, according to Flightradar 24.