One dead as Saudi airport hit again; Riyadh going ahead with major events

Saudi Arabia’s main airport came under renewed attack from Houthi rebels on Oct 11, a day after a strike on the facility killed at least 12 people and heaped pressure on the Middle East’s biggest economy as it prepares to host major events that seek to boost foreign investment.

The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said that one person, a Pakistani resident, was killed and 11 other people were injured in the Oct 11 attack on King Khalid International airport in Riyadh.

The attack resulted in material damage that is still being assessed, it added.

The Houthis swiftly claimed the attacks, saying they were a response to “Saudi aggression”.

The Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, said air defences had intercepted a missile near the same location in the Saudi capital.

The incident follows the strike on King Khalid airport on Oct 10 that killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, and marked the deadliest single event in Saudi Arabia since the Iran war began in late February.

A projectile also fell near the King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Dammam, which the Houthis also claimed as one of their attacks.

The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed the strike on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late on Oct 11, adding that “damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are under way”.

An eyewitness aboard a taxiing aircraft at Dammam told Reuters that around 8.30pm local time on Oct 11, they saw a projectile strike the tarmac beside several parked aircraft, causing a fire. The witness said the aircraft returned to the gate. Passengers disembarked and were told to leave.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed several delays and cancellations on Oct 11 for arrivals and departures at Dammam airport, the kingdom’s third-largest.

In a televised speech on Oct 11, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had also struck two facilities of Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The Saudi government’s media office and Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.

The blast at the Riyadh airport on Oct 10 brought travel at the airport to a near-standstill.

It also forced the capital’s financial hub to shift to remote work until further notice and prompted executives from BP Plc and Shell Plc to pull out of a major energy event in the city this week.

On Oct 11, the British government warned its citizens against all but essential travel to Jeddah and Dammam, as well as to all Saudi airports except for Medina. It suggested they consider departing Saudi Arabia via land to neighbouring countries.

The authorities have indicated the 25th World Petroleum Congress and associated events, due to run from Oct 11 through Oct 15, will go ahead.

The city is also scheduled to host the Future Investment Initiative, Riyadh’s flagship investor gathering, later in October.

The two events are set to draw industry heavyweights, including Wall Street titans such as Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

The FII’s organisers on Oct 11 said they were preparing to “welcome thousands of delegates to Riyadh” for the event starting Oct 26.

“Comprehensive security measures will be in place at Riyadh’s airports, our conference venues and official hotels, with coordinated arrangements for participants’ transportation and movements,” the group’s chief executive officer, Maha Al Saud, said in a statement.

The Houthis seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition almost ever since. 

The Oct 11 strike came less than a week after Saudi-backed forces in Yemen launched a campaign to retake Houthi-held areas and “eliminate” the group.

The militants, who frequently claim attacks on Saudi oil facilities, had recently seized more Yemeni territory and bolstered their control over the Bab el-Mandeb, a global shipping choke-point.

The Saudi-led coalition called “the cowardly terrorist attack” on the airport on Oct 11 “a full-fledged war crime” by the Houthis. 

The victims included four Saudis, a Palestinian, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan, according to the authorities. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS