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Thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air-raid alerts in Saudi capital
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- Flames and thick black smoke were reported at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport after Saudi authorities issued air-raid alerts warning of aerial attacks, marking the first such alert since fighting with Iran-backed Houthis escalated in July.
- Explosions were heard in the capital, with firefighters extinguishing a burning fuel tank at an Aramco facility near the airport, while FlightRadar24 indicated major disruptions at the airport.
- The Saudi civil defense sent air-raid alerts to residents in multiple cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, and Yanbu, but later gave an all-clear and advised against crowd gatherings.
- The UN Security Council condemned ongoing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, highlighting impacts on civilian and energy infrastructure and calling for enforcement of the UN arms embargo against the group.
- The Houthis claimed to have thwarted "criminal attempts" in Yemen's capital and blamed Saudi Arabia, while also reporting hundreds of Saudi airstrikes against them in recent days.
