RIYADH, thekabarnews.com—An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 others on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 10. This marked a sharp escalation in the renewed conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced the casualty figures early Sunday. The agency said several injured people remained in critical condition and were receiving treatment at hospitals.

The fatalities included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign residents. The foreign victims comprised two Bangladeshis and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, according to the saudigazette.com.sa.

Saudi authorities temporarily suspended airport operations to inspect the facilities and assess structural damage. The closure remained in effect on Sunday, disrupting flights at one of the kingdom’s principal aviation hubs. Airlines had already suspended or redirected some services because of previous attacks and the worsening security situation.

A missile struck a complex containing Terminals 3 and 4, which serve domestic passengers, the AP News reported. This was according to a regional official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Saudi-led coalition blamed the Iran-aligned Houthis for the attack and promised a response. Additionally, the airport would remain closed until at least 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The Houthis did not immediately issue a direct claim of responsibility for Saturday’s strike. However, a statement from the Houthi-controlled authorities in Sanaa said the group was prepared to support reciprocal steps. These steps would keep airports, seaports and other facilities serving humanitarian purposes outside the fighting.

Houthi-run Al-Masirah television separately reported new Saudi air and missile attacks across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The reported targets included Sanaa International Airport and positions near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This strait is a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The opposing sides released competing battlefield claims that could not be independently verified. Yemeni government forces said they had “neutralized” more than 1,150 Houthi fighters and damaged or destroyed over 180 military and logistics vehicles. These attacks occurred during more than 1,900 strikes over 24 hours.

Government military sources also reported intense fighting south of Taiz. Houthi advances had threatened supply routes connecting the city with government-controlled southern Yemen.

Saturday’s airport attack followed earlier strikes on King Khalid and Abha airports. GACA said attacks earlier in the week killed three Saudi citizens, including an airline pilot.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for those previous strikes. The United Nations has warned that civilians continue to suffer the worst of the renewed violence amid Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Yemen’s conflict began escalating in late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country’s north. Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government, now based in Aden. A UN-mediated truce in 2022 largely halted major cross-border fighting before the latest escalation.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry previously advised citizens to reconsider nonessential travel through the Middle East during periods of heightened insecurity. Its regional security advisory lists the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh emergency hotline at +966 569173990.