India on Thursday condemned attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed three people and injured 36, describing the targeting of civilian infrastructure as “completely unacceptable”.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the attacks over the past few days had resulted in civilian deaths and injuries and expressed condolences to the families of those killed.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones. We wish speedy recovery for those injured,” the MEA said in a statement.
India also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia, its people and government.
The attacks on the two airports took place separately on October 6 and 7, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Two people were killed and 28 injured at Abha airport, while one person was killed and eight injured in the attack on King Khalid International Airport.
GACA said the injured were taken to hospitals and authorities were assessing the damage and checking the safety of the facilities.
The attacks were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, which has been engaged in a prolonged conflict with Saudi Arabia and its allies. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had carried out missile attacks against Saudi and Saudi-backed targets.
In response, Saudi-led coalition forces said they had destroyed 82 military targets belonging to the Houthi militia in Yemen.
Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the attacks on civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia “will not go unpunished”. He said the coalition operation targeted ballistic missile sites, command and control centres, communication systems, missile and weapons storage facilities and Houthi gathering locations across Yemen’s Saada, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf and Ma’rib governorates.
The coalition also said it had destroyed a ballistic missile launch platform in Sanaa that was being prepared for an imminent attack on Saudi Arabia.
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi condemned the attacks, calling them “systematic crimes” against civilians. He said attacks on civilian airports and the endangerment of travellers, workers and civilians constituted a dangerous escalation and a violation of international laws and norms.
The US Mission in Saudi Arabia urged American citizens to exercise “heightened vigilance” amid Houthi threats against airports and airspace in the country, warning of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions.
(With inputs from ANI)