Houthi Strike on Riyadh Airport Kills 13, Including Islamic Scholar
Al Arabiya and other outlets aired footage that purportedly shows Al-Badr inside the airport shortly before Saturday’s strike. He was reportedly on his way to perform Umrah, the minor pilgrimage. The video then captures an explosion tearing through the passenger terminal, sending flames and thick smoke billowing through the area.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said Sunday that the attack killed 12 people, four of them Saudi citizens and eight foreign residents, and injured 309. The toll climbed to 13 after the Indian Embassy in Riyadh announced that one of its nationals had succumbed to injuries from the blast.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, blamed the Houthis for the assault and branded it a “full-fledged war crime.”
He said the coalition’s Joint Forces Command would retaliate “firmly and in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules.”
The strike comes as hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have intensified since July, including attacks on civilian aviation facilities and energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the Houthis since March 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The group has held the capital, Sanaa, and several other provinces since September 2014.
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