Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a follow-up statement on Sunday that Saturday's attack on King Khalid International Airport had killed 12 people and left 309 others wounded. Among the dead were four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Officials said some of the wounded were in critical condition and that all of the injured were receiving care at several hospitals across the capital.
The strike came without warning on Saturday afternoon, and Saudi authorities said no alert had been issued by the kingdom's threat-warning system before the missile hit. The aviation authority said the airport suffered material damage, the extent of which was still being assessed, and announced the temporary suspension of airport operations until further notice. Passengers were told to check their flight status with airlines before heading to the airport.
A senior Houthi official, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, said the militia carried out the attack in retaliation for Saudi strikes, including strikes on civilian infrastructure in Yemen. The attack was the third on King Khalid International Airport this week. On Thursday, strikes on the same airport killed at least three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, and heavily damaged a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac, according to Saudi aviation authorities. The earlier attacks also came days after the Houthis claimed a missile and drone strike on an Aramco facility in Riyadh, underscoring how the conflict has increasingly reached the Saudi capital.
The assault triggered severe disruption to air travel. On Thursday, nearly 300 scheduled arrivals and departures at the airport were cancelled or unable to operate. On Saturday, about 260 flights to and from Riyadh were cancelled and another 219 were delayed, according to air-traffic data from Flightradar24. Several international airlines suspended flights to Riyadh, and Kuwait's national carrier scrapped its services. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency expanded its warnings about the dangers of operating through Saudi airspace, and several Western diplomatic missions in Riyadh, including those of Germany, the United States, Canada and Spain, advised their nationals to stay away from the airport.
U.S. officials responded quickly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks and confirmed that an American citizen had been killed. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said it was aware of the attacks on the airport and urged American citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Saturday evening on his return to Washington from a political rally, called the attack unacceptable and said he plans to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier in the day, Trump said the United States may consider joining the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, adding: "We may. We're going to look at it."
The airport strike came as the Saudi-led coalition intensifies a major military offensive against the Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen. The deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade has raised new questions about the kingdom's air defenses after repeated strikes on the same civilian airport within days. Separately, U.S. Central Command said a U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel that had previously departed an Iranian port, disabling the ship's propulsion with a precision munition without harming its crew. The strikes, taken together, point to a conflict that is spreading across airspace, sea lanes and civilian infrastructure alike. The airport remained closed on Sunday, hospitals continued to treat the wounded, and Saudi authorities said damage assessments were ongoing.