Second strike hits Riyadh's King Khalid Airport amid Houthi threats

A projectile hit the passenger terminal complex housing terminals 3 and 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, hours after a previous strike on Saturday killed at least 12 people, including a U.S. citizen, and injured hundreds.

The airport remained closed, flights were diverted and Saudi schools in Riyadh shifted to online instruction. Several countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada, advised their citizens to avoid the airport.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree posted on X that the kingdom's airports and airspace are "exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces," urging people to take the group's warnings seriously.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks in a social-media post, saying the United States strongly condemns the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthis, including the strike that killed an American citizen. A State Department spokesperson said the administration is in close contact with its Saudi partners.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attacks by Iran-backed groups as pushing the region into a spiral of violence and destabilising crucial transport and energy nodes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the Riyadh airport strike, calling terrorism a threat that must be confronted with resolve.

Saudi officials reported that the dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, a Palestinian, an Egyptian flight attendant, a Jordanian, a Syrian, a Sudanese and a U.S. citizen. Hospitals were treating more than 300 injured people, some in serious condition.

The Houthi group had earlier claimed attacks on the same airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot, and said it would continue targeting Saudi airports, except for the holy sites of Mecca and Medina.