US national among 12 killed and 309 others injured in Saudi Arabia airport attack

0One American is dead after an attack by the Houthis injured several hundred will killing only a dozen (Image: AFP via Getty Images)A Houthi attack in Saudi Arabia killed one American citizen along with 11 others, while injuring over 300 during a major attack at the King Khalid International AirportOne U.S. national was among the dozen people killed during an attack on a Saudi Arabian airport on Saturday, which also left over 300 people injured.

In an additional statement put out by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, it reported that 4 citizens of various nationalities had been killed. "Further to the statement issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation regarding the heinous attack that targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon," read the statement.

"29 Rabi' al-Thani 1448 AH, corresponding to October 10, 2026, the Authority reported that the attack resulted in the death of (12) people, including (4) citizens and residents of the following nationalities: (2) Bangladeshi, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian, and one Sudanese," it added. "The attack also resulted in injuries to (309) others, who are receiving necessary medical care in several hospitals, including some with critical injuries."

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"We ask God to have mercy on the deceased and grant a speedy recovery to the injured," It continued. "The attack also caused material damage, the extent of which is currently being assessed."

It was reported that the Houthis launched an attack on the major airport. Footage shows thick black smoke and flames rising from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh following the brutal onslaught.

Sources say dozens of people have been injured, most of them Saudi nationals. At least five of the injured are in "intensive care," according to AFP. An eyewitness told the agency, "everyone was running" after strikes on the domestic terminal.

"I was on gate 403," the witness told AFP. "I saw [gate] 401 hit, I saw injured [people] in front of my eyes. Everyone was running." It follows days of similar strikes by Yemen's Houthis on the Kingdom. Authorities said three Saudis, including a pilot, were killed in two attacks on the same airport by the Iran-backed Houthis yesterday.

Operations at the airport were suspended on Saturday following today's attack, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. All flights appear to be canceled or diverted on flight trackers, with more than 300 affected.

"The attack resulted in a number of injuries, which are being dealt with," the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement. "The authority explained that airport operations have been temporarily suspended to allow for the completion of damage assessments and verification of the safety of the facilities, in coordination with the relevant authorities."

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More than a dozen ambulances were reportedly seen rushing to the airport. A medical source told AFP that doctors have been asked to report to hospitals. "We were told we are dealing with a 'serious emergency situation'," they told the agency.

Western embassies have urged their citizens to avoid the airport and the surrounding areas. The latest attacks appear to be a marked escalation in tensions in the region between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who control most of the country's north-west.

The Houthis said they were targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for the government forces in Yemen. The conflict worsened after the Houthis seized strategically important territory near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

New cage-like fences were erected this week around fuel tanks and other equipment of the Saudi state-run Aramco oil company near the Riyadh airport.