12 Dead, 309 Injured in Riyadh Airport Attack

An attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said. Airport operations were suspended and flights diverted as authorities assessed the damage. The authority said the dead included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign nationals. The injured were being treated at hospitals, and some were in critical condition. The reported toll comes from the authority’s statement, repeated by officials and news reports. Witnesses described an explosion and injured people inside the airport. Video reviewed by Reuters showed ambulances at the facility. A passenger said a gate in the domestic terminal had been struck, but the supplied reporting did not independently establish the weapon used or who carried out Saturday’s attack. The Saudi-led coalition blamed the Houthis, the armed group fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and vowed a response. Coalition officials described the attack as a war crime. The Houthis had claimed attacks on the airport earlier in the week, but reports differed over whether they had claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike.