By Jana Choukeir, Maha El Dahan and Timour Azhari
DUBAI/RIYADH, Oct 11 (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said an “unidentified projectile” had targeted Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday, causing a fire, hours after the Iran-backed Houthis warned airlines and travellers to stay away from Saudi airports.
The coalition also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport. No further details were immediately available.
The airport remains closed after an attack there on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded more than 300 others, the deadliest such strike on the kingdom in over a decade, amid an escalation of fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces.
Despite the airport’s temporary closure, the Saudi Energy Ministry said a long-planned international energy conference was still going ahead in Riyadh on Sunday.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Sunday’s projectile had targeted Terminal 4 of the airport, without elaborating.
Earlier, the Houthis had said in a statement on X:
“We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports in (the holy cities of) Mecca and Medina.”
“We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions.”
‘WORSE IS YET TO COME,’ HOUTHIS WARN
Saudi Arabia has stepped up its military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
Yemen’s Houthi-run foreign ministry said later on Sunday that further Saudi military action in Yemen would trigger a stronger response, adding that its actions would be guided by the principle of reciprocity.
“Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing,” the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in the conflict, a spillover from the wider war on Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONFERENCE STILL GOING AHEAD
A five-day WPC Energy Congress is taking place this week at a convention centre some 10 km (6 miles) from the airport. State TV said more than 70 ministers, 300 company executives and representatives of over 25 international energy organisations had confirmed their attendance.
It was not immediately clear whether the participants would attend in person or virtually.
A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum is also set to go ahead on Sunday, with its plenary session to be held behind closed doors, according to a media advisory. No further details were immediately available.
Separately, Saudi authorities notified parents that in-person classes would be suspended and shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday for all students, teachers and administrative staff.
In Saturday’s attack, the third on Riyadh’s airport in a week, the 12 dead included 4 Saudis, 2 Bangladeshis and nationals of the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, Saudi authorities said.
Four people were killed in the two previous attacks on the airport earlier in the week. One of the attacks also caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Maha El Dahan in Dubai, Timour Azhari Riyadh, Menna Alaa El-Din and Yasmine Ghania in Cairo; Editing by Andrew Mills and Gareth Jones)
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