Saudi airline pilot among three killed in attacks on Riyadh airport

Three Saudi nationals lost their lives and several others were injured in two attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday, according to the civil aviation authority. The General Authority of Civil Aviation reported in a statement on X that the first attack targeted airport facilities, while the second struck a Saudi state carrier aircraft, Saudia.

The injuries varied from minor to severe, and the attacks caused material damage, although airport operations resumed and air traffic returned to normal. Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, a pilot with Saudia Airlines, was among those killed in the incident. The Saudi flag-carrier confirmed the tragedy in a statement released after the attacks.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating that they targeted the airport with two cruise missiles. Additionally, the Houthis allegedly struck an airport in the southwestern city of Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait with ballistic missiles. The Houthis justify their actions by citing Saudi support for government forces in Yemen’s ongoing civil war.

Saudi Arabia, in response, supports the UN-recognized government's offensive to reclaim territory from the Houthis. The latest confirmed casualties follow earlier strikes on Riyadh airport and Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, resulting in three more fatalities. The ongoing conflict, an extension of the US-Iran war, has further destabilized the already volatile region and raises concerns about potential involvement from other states in the escalating conflict.