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RIYADH: The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen has vowed a firm response to a Houthi attack on Riyadh\u2019s King Khalid International Airport that killed 12 people and injured 309 others, as US President Donald Trump condemned the strike as \u201cnot acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition forces, said the attack on a passenger terminal at the airport on Saturday constituted a war crime under international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attack on King Khalid International Airport is a terrorist act and will be met with a firm response,\u201d Al-Maliki said in a statement released on X and carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).<\/p>\n
He described the attack by Yemen\u2019s Iran-backedHouthi militia as a \u201cfull-fledged war crime\u201d under international humanitarian law and its customary rules, condemning it as an act that violated fundamental principles and values.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will respond to this terrorist attack firmly and in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in the United States on Saturday, condemned the attack and said he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the Kingdom\u2019s prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in Saudi Arabia\u2019s not acceptable,\u201d Trump said, according to AFP.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also strongly condemned the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying an American citizen had been killed in the strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now,\u201d Rubio wrote on X on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said early Sunday that 12 people had been killed and 309 injured in Saturday\u2019s attack on King Khalid International Airport. The dead included four Saudi citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. Some of the injured were in critical condition.<\/p>\n
GACA said airport operations had been temporarily suspended while authorities assessed the damage. The attack was the latest in a series of Houthi strikes targeting the Kingdom\u2019s civilian aviation infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Hours after the Riyadh attack, Al-Maliki announced on X that a projectile had fallen near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the Kingdom\u2019s Eastern Province. He did not provide further details about the incident.<\/p>\n
The coalition also announced that a Houthi ballistic missile had been intercepted in Al-Kharj governorate, according to a separate statement carried by SPA.<\/p>\n
The incidents have heightened concerns about the growing threat to Saudi Arabia\u2019s airports and air travel as the regional conflict continues. King Fahd International Airport, one of the Kingdom\u2019s busiest transport hubs, had not previously been reported as a target since the Iran war erupted on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
At least 291 flights at Riyadh\u2019s airport were canceled over a 24-hour period, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Several international airlines, including Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines, had also suspended flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.<\/p>\n
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, citing the Houthis\u2019 ability to strike targets deeper inside the Kingdom and an increased focus on aviation infrastructure. It warned that missile and drone attacks, as well as interception efforts, increased the risk of civil aircraft being misidentified.<\/p>\n
The attacks have also prompted diplomatic action over the wider threat posed by the Houthis.<\/p>\n
Yemen\u2019s internationally recognized government submitted a letter to the United Nations and the Security Council concerning a Houthi attack on Aden airport early Wednesday, according to SPA.<\/p>\n
The letter, addressed by Yemen\u2019s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, to Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and the Security Council president for October, Greece\u2019s Ambassador Aglaia Balta, called for condemnation of the attack, accountability for those responsible and full implementation of the arms embargo imposed on the militia.<\/p>\n
The Yemeni government said confronting the threat required addressing its underlying causes, particularly the continued control of parts of the country by armed militias and their possession of capabilities used against civilians, civilian infrastructure and international navigation, SPA reported.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly warned against the use of Yemeni territory as a launchpad for attacks on the Kingdom and threats to regional security and maritime navigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n