The key facts

  • King Khalid Airport is closed at least until the end of the working week, according to an airline source for AFP
  • At least 18 people were killed and hundreds wounded in attacks over the past week
  • Riyadh metro has been halted at three stations near the airport

Airport closure extended

On Monday, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation announced an extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport without specifying a timeframe. According to a source at one of the airlines operating flights to Gulf countries, notices from the aviation administration said the airport's operations would be suspended at least until the end of the working week. A senior official of the Riyadh metro told AFP that the government had halted train movement at three stations serving the airport.

Victims of the attacks

According to Kun.uz, at least 18 people were killed as a result of strikes on the airport over the past week, 13 of them after a strike on Saturday. It was the deadliest attack in the country in more than ten years. Hundreds of people were wounded.

Promise of a 'serious response'

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman promised a 'serious' response to the attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on airports and oil and gas facilities. 'The events of recent weeks have taken on a serious character. Our response must be equally serious,' he said at the World Energy Congress (WPC) that opened in Riyadh.

Exchange of strikes

The Houthis said they were striking in response to the Saudis' 'merciless aggression.' According to the Houthi-controlled health ministry, a child was killed and six more people were wounded on Sunday in a Saudi airstrike on residential areas in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition is providing air support to government forces advancing against the Houthis on the Red Sea coast in Yemen and in other areas.