Twelve killed in attack on airport in Saudi capital Riyadh
At least 12 people have been killed and 309 injured in an attack on an international airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh, local authorities say, days after Yemen's Houthis claimed to have carried out similar strikes on the hub.
By Parul Gupta
Published 10 October 2026, 16:05 BST
Updated 5 minutes ago
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority reported that among the victims were four Saudi and two Bangladeshi nationals, while Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and the US each had one of their citizens killed.
Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have been suspended. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport, according to news agency Reuters, citing an eyewitness.
The US embassy advised Americans to avoid the area, stating they were "aware of attacks."
This incident follows several similar attacks on Saudi Arabian airports by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in recent days.
An eyewitness who was in the domestic terminal described seeing gate 401 hit and "injured [people] in front of my eyes", adding: "Everyone was running."
Western embassies have warned their citizens to stay away from the airport, while the UK Foreign Office instructed British nationals to stay clear "until the airport is secure and to monitor the advice of the Saudi authorities".
Several Gulf airlines cancelled their flights to and from the airport, with Kuwait Airways citing the "security situation". Flightradar24 shows all flights to Riyadh have been either diverted or cancelled.
Doctors were asked to report to hospitals to handle the situation, a medical source told AFP, describing the situation as a "serious emergency."
The suspected attack comes amidst a surge in fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who control much of northwestern Yemen. The Houthis have claimed to target Saudi Arabia in response to its support for Yemeni government forces.