BEIRUT: An airline pilot was among three Saudi citizens killed in attacks targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said on Friday. Several people "of different nationalities" were wounded.
The attacks on Thursday were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels last weekend.
They also marked a significant escalation on the latest front in the Iran war, which has kept oil prices and financial markets volatile. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg was scheduled to brief the Security Council on developments in Yemen later on Friday.
Hundreds of flights to and from Riyadh were canceled on Thursday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The Indian Embassy later said Air India had suspended operations through to Saturday, while the Lufthansa Group said its airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh through to Oct. 16. Pakistan International Airlines has also suspended flights to Riyadh because of the evolving situation in the Middle East, an airline spokesman said. The US Embassy warned citizens on Wednesday of potential airspace closures.
Yemen's Houthis claim the attack
The first attack on Thursday targeted airport facilities, while the second struck the aircraft, the Saudi statement said. It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.
Among the dead was Capt. Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement. It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national carrier since the new offensive began. A separate Saudia Group statement said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.
The aviation statement also said the injuries to citizens and people of other nationalities "ranged from minor to serious." The Saudia Group statement later said operational activities at the airport had returned to normal.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed three rocket launch platforms used by the rebels to threaten regional security.
Riyadh airport has been repeatedly targeted
The airport in the Saudi capital has come under repeated attack in recent days. This week, the Houthis warned global airlines "for the last time" about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theater for their military operations.
On Wednesday, Saudi officials said Houthi-claimed attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha had killed three people.
Saudi Arabia faces mounting attacks from the Houthis, who declared a blockade of the kingdom earlier this year in response to one imposed on them.
The kingdom has sought support from allies, including the United States. Officials said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive.
But President Donald Trump has shown reluctance to expand US military involvement in the Middle East and, for now, has not ordered American forces to resume strikes against the rebels. The US last year carried out a nearly two-month air strike campaign against the Houthis in an effort to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
The Houthis had disrupted the waterway for months with their own attacks in response to Israel mounting a blockade on the Gaza Strip. Trump halted strikes after the US military burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in munitions.
The new Saudi-led offensive aims to retake territory the Houthis seized a month ago along Yemen's western Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Their presence there threatens a crucial alternative shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks on ships have curtailed traffic.