Three Saudi citizens were killed and several people “of different nationalities” were wounded in attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia Airlines plane, the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said on Friday. Thursday’s attack was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend aimed at retaking territory captured by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It was a significant escalation in what appears to be the new epicenter of the broader war in the Middle East sparked by the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. The first attack on Thursday afternoon targeted airport facilities, while the second hit the plane, which was empty at the time, according to the Saudi statement. He did not identify those responsible, although the Houthis have claimed to have attacked the airport repeatedly this week with ballistic missiles, including on Thursday. Among the dead was Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement seen by the Associated Press. It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national airline since the new offensive against the Houthis began. The Saudi aviation agency, GACA, said in its statement that injuries suffered by citizens and people of other nationalities “ranged from minor to serious.” The Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the possible consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they have declared a theater of military operations. On Wednesday, Saudi officials said attacks on Riyadh and Abha airports claimed by the Houthis had killed three people. CBS/AP
