Houthis claim attack on Riyadh airport as airlines suspend flights to Saudi capital

Saudi Arabia has not commented on claims, but confirmed three killed in airport strikes earlier this week

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they have struck Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh ⁠airport with a ballistic missile, badly damaging a plane and leading some airlines to suspend flights to the capital.

However, three people briefed on the matter told Reuters that shrapnel from ​an interception or another projectile left a Saudia Airlines commercial plane heavily damaged after catching fire while parked at a terminal on Thursday.

Witnesses heard explosions in Riyadh, including a large blast at the King Khalid international airport. One witness told the Associated Press that fire and ambulance crews were deployed. A thick black column of smoke and flames were shown rising from the airport in a video verified by Reuters.

The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that outgoing flights were halted, and that passengers were instructed to evacuate the airport.

It comes after Saudi authorities said on Wednesday that three people had been killed this week in strikes on Riyadh airport and Abha airport, in the country’s southwest.

The Houthis escalated their campaign of strikes against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, attempting to shut down the kingdom’s airspace and warning workers to stay away from ⁠energy plants, which would be targeted.

The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for government forces in ​Yemen’s reignited civil war.

The Houthis have made a lightning advance across Yemen’s coastal plain over the last month, appearing to gain ground in the country’s south-west on Wednesday as the group approached the city of Taiz.

Riyadh is due to host a major meeting of energy policymakers, the WPC Energy Congress, this week.