Riyadh Airport Attack: 12 Killed, 309 Wounded at King Khalid International Airport
Twelve people have been killed and 309 others injured following a devastating weekend attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed the updated casualty toll early Sunday morning, noting that the deceased include four Saudi citizens alongside several foreign nationals.
According to the official Saudi Gazette, the international victims consist of two Bangladeshi nationals and one citizen each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, and the Palestinian territories.
The assault on Saturday afternoon heavily struck passenger facilities, forcing authorities to temporarily suspend airport operations, cancel or divert flights, and evacuate affected zones. Medical teams are currently treating the 309 injured individuals, many of whom remain in critical condition.
This incident marks the single bloodiest strike on a civilian transportation hub in the kingdom since cross-border hostilities sharply escalated over the past week. While no group has claimed direct responsibility for Saturday’s mass-casualty incident, the assault follows a predictable pattern of recent infrastructure strikes.
King Khalid International Airport was targeted multiple times earlier in the week. A multi-missile strike on Thursday, claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, killed three Saudi citizens—including a commercial pilot—when explosives struck airport facilities and a stationary state carrier aircraft. An earlier attack on Tuesday killed a Sudanese national at the same location.
The strikes come on the heels of a massive military offensive launched by Saudi-led coalition forces against Houthi rebel factions in neighboring Yemen. Simultaneously, the southern Abha International Airport was hit, killing a Moroccan and an Algerian national.
