Saudi Arabia said it temporarily suspended operations at the Riyadh airport after an “enemy” attack as air traffic was disrupted for the third time this week amid an intensifying conflict with Yemen’s Houthis.
Saudi civil aviation authorities said there were a number of injuries and that operations would remain suspended while the damage was being assessed.
The US warned its citizens to avoid the airport in the Saudi capital. The UK described the latest incident as “ serious ” and airlines including Kuwait’s national carrier scrapped flights.
Some 260 flights to and from Riyadh were canceled Saturday and another 219 were delayed, according to data from air traffic monitor Flightradar24.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport issued an alert to passengers asking that they contact airlines directly and confirm the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
Three Saudi nationals were killed in an attack on the airport on Thursday and others were injured, while a Saudia Airlines aircraft was damaged, the Saudi authorities said. Earlier attacks this week killed one person at the capital’s main airport and two at Abha airport. Both strikes were claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen.
The Houthis are facing a ground offensive from a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Soldiers from the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Saudi air force are working to take back territory won by the militant group over the past month near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The offensive began on Sunday and the coalition says it has gained ground, including retaking the Red Sea port city of Mokha. The Saudi-led group says it aims to “eliminate” the Houthis, who control territory that is home to around 70% of Yemen’s population, including the capital, Sanaa.
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