Saudi energy minister vows serious response after 14 killed in Houthi airport attacks

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman vowed a serious response to Houthi attacks on the kingdom's airports and oil and gas facilities, telling the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh: "The events of recent weeks are serious. Our response must be equally serious." The attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport over the weekend killed 14 people and injured at least 320 others, and the airport is expected to remain closed until Saturday.tribune.net.ph+1

The vow matters because it signals Saudi Arabia may escalate a conflict that has already drawn in other countries. The airport has been attacked four times in a week, and the strikes have disrupted air travel across the kingdom. Qatar Airways suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam, and Etihad Airways cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, citing regional disruption. Businesses in Riyadh's financial hub told employees to work remotely, and schools switched to online classes.channel4.com

What the minister said

The Houthis said they launched the attacks in retaliation for what they called brutal Saudi aggression against areas they control in western Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a video statement that forces launched missiles and drones at Riyadh and Dammam's airports and two oil and gas facilities in Eastern Province, in response to 124 Saudi air strikes in Yemen over the previous 24 hours. He warned airlines against using Saudi airports and airspace, except for journeys to and from Mecca and Medina.lbc.co.uk

A Houthi-run health ministry said a child was killed and six other people were injured in a Saudi air strike on a home in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, on Sunday. Saudi forces responded with air strikes on Sanaa, where at least one person was killed, and intense fighting continued in Taiz province, where Saudi and Yemeni government forces are battling to stop the Houthis taking the strategically important city of Taiz.

The weekend attacks killed 14 people in total. On Saturday, a Houthi missile struck Terminal 3 at King Khalid airport, killing 13 people: four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian, one Sudanese and one Indian. On Sunday, a Pakistani resident was killed when a projectile hit Terminal 4, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was also attacked on Sunday evening, with no casualties reported.

How the attacks unfolded

Last Thursday, three Saudis, including a pilot for the national airline Saudia, were killed in two strikes on an airport facility and an aircraft on the ground. Explosions were heard again in Riyadh on Monday night, with the Saudi-led military coalition saying a ballistic missile had been intercepted and destroyed. A Houthi spokesperson said the group had again targeted the airport. The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched towards Khamis Mushait.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was deeply shocked and warned that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure were a violation of international law. President Donald Trump said he would make a decision about the US joining Saudi Arabia's strikes on the Houthis. Iran, which has repeatedly denied allegations that it provides weapons and training to the Houthis, said it was deeply concerned by the escalation and called for dialogue and engagement to resolve the situation.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Commons on Monday, as Parliament returned from recess, that Britain would continue to stand with Saudi Arabia. He said he confirmed Britain's decision to send air defence and a Voyager aircraft to Saudi Arabia to provide air-to-air refuelling support, and that it had already completed 14 operational missions. He condemned the appalling attacks on King Khalid International Airport and said the Government was prepared to consider further Saudi requests for support.

Who else has responded

Prince Abdul Aziz, in his inaugural address to the WPC Energy Congress on Monday, thanked industry executives and policymakers for attending despite the attacks, saying: "You know this country is safe and that we hold your protection at whole heart." He acknowledged that energy security cannot be taken for granted and that recent developments had tested the kingdom's infrastructure, institutions, people and resilience. The congress opened on Sunday at a convention centre about 10km from Riyadh's airport.

Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015 after the Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the government's rule. A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

King Khalid airport is expected to remain closed until Saturday, and Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said early on Tuesday that the Houthis had shot down what he described as a Saudi reconnaissance drone. The Saudi-led coalition said its forces intercepted a drone in Eastern Province and a missile launched towards Khamis Mushait. The escalation continues as the WPC Energy Congress runs in Riyadh, with further Houthi strikes possible before the airport reopens on Saturday.