Fresh Attack on Riyadh’s International Airport, Pakistani Killed, 11 Injured

Darwin, October 12 : A fresh attack has reportedly targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, killing one Pakistani national and injuring at least 11 others. Al Jazeera and Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported the incident in separate reports on Monday morning (October 12).

According to the reports, several hours before the second attack on Riyadh’s airport, Houthi-affiliated media reported an airstrike on an airport controlled by the Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. However, it remains unclear whether there is any direct connection between the two incidents.

Amid the escalating situation, Iran has offered to facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, offering to help create a pathway for negotiations between the two sides.

Earlier, an attack on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday reportedly killed 12 people and injured more than 300. Among the dead were four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.

In a statement on Sunday, the Houthis did not directly refer to Saturday’s attack, which reportedly killed 12 people. However, the group had previously claimed responsibility for a separate attack on the same airport on Thursday.

Thomas Juneau, a security analyst at the University of Ottawa, said, “Saudi Arabia’s air defence systems have managed to intercept some Houthi missile and drone attacks, but Saudi Arabia is so vast that it is virtually impossible for the country to consistently defend itself against Houthi attacks.”

The anti-Houthi coalition described Saturday’s attack as a “full-scale war crime” and vowed to respond “forcefully.”

The United Nations and leaders from around the world, including US President Donald Trump, condemned Saturday’s attack. Trump said he was considering joining Saudi Arabia in launching attacks against the Houthis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has no diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, also condemned what he described as a “horrific terrorist attack.”

Meanwhile, Tehran has described Washington’s response to Iran’s seven conditions for ending the war as “insufficient.” Mohsen Rezaei, an official with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the United States had accepted some of Tehran’s seven conditions for ending the conflict. However, he added that Washington’s response had yet to meet Iran’s expectations.

Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that a third large oil tanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. The incident has further heightened concerns over the safety of shipping through the strategically important waterway.

Source: Al Jazeera and Dawn