Flames, smoke seen near Riyadh airport after Saudi Arabia warning of aerial attack threat - The Indian Express

Riyadh Airport News: A large plume of smoke was seen near Riyadh’s main airport on Saturday after loud booms were heard, following overnight alerts from Saudi Arabia authorities warning of a potential aerial attack around the capital, amid an escalation in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group, Reuters reported.

Video and photographs shared by Reuters showed a massive column of black smoke rising in the area, with the airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities visible in the foreground. Flames were also seen rising behind what appeared to be fuel tanks at one point in the footage.

Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was hit overnight with drones, hitting the main jet fuel tanks, with flames and a massive plume of black smoke over the airport, per Reuters. pic.twitter.com/ZyYNzkn6C6 https://t.co/SohmdvD8Jl

The Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to questions about the smoke or the overnight alerts, according to Reuters.

Saudi civil defence sent phone alerts overnight warning of possible danger from aerial attacks in Riyadh and Al-Kharj, a city east of the capital, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning. A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya area heard booms before the all-clear was issued.

While Riyadh has received some alerts this year following the start of the US-Iran war, Saturday’s warnings were the first since the escalation involving the Houthis began in July.

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas as well as much of the north, have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

The attacks have also struck Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, creating fresh risks to global oil supplies and threatening the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.

On Friday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had thwarted unspecified “criminal attempts” in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia and vowing a response.

The Iran-aligned group, which seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a rapid advance this month, says the Saudi Air Force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against it in recent days.

The UN Security Council on Friday “condemned in the strongest terms continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children.”

The Security Council also condemned the “Houthi military escalation in Yemen”.

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