Blast at Riyadh airport injures people, disrupts flight operations (Img: Dynamite News)
Riyadh: A blast at Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday injured around a dozen people, forcing the evacuation of travellers from parts of the facility, according to a Reuters report.
At least five injured people were admitted to intensive care, other media reports said. An eyewitness reported seeing an explosion and several people lying injured on the ground inside the airport. More than a dozen ambulances rushed to the scene.
The blast comes amid an escalation in missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group on Saudi Arabia. The airport had already been targeted twice this week, with the attacks leaving four people dead, several others injured and an aircraft badly damaged.
Saudi Arabia’s government media office and civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday’s explosion.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that all flights headed for Riyadh had been diverted or cancelled. At one point, only a helicopter was visible hovering over the airport.
Airport authorities advised passengers to contact their airlines and check their flight status before travelling to the facility.
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Kuwait Airways announced the cancellation of flights to and from Riyadh, citing the airport’s closure due to the “security situation”. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also cancelled several services connecting their respective hubs with Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
Following the latest attack, US President Donald Trump said Washington could consider joining Saudi Arabia’s military strikes against the Houthis.
Asked by reporters outside the White House whether the US would participate in the strikes, Trump said, “We may. We're going to look at it.” He added that his administration had only just learnt about the latest attack and would decide on its response.
The latest incident follows Houthi attacks on Thursday and earlier in the week, which had already prompted several airlines to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital.
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The Houthis have warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.
The flight disruptions come shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences.
Organisers said on Saturday that the events would go ahead as scheduled and sought to reassure attendees about the security arrangements in place.
