Riyadh Airport Hit Again Sunday: Projectile Strikes Terminal 4, Fire Breaks Out as Death Toll From Saturday Reaches 13
Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was struck again on Sunday, less than a day after a missile attack blamed on Yemen's Houthi movement killed 13 people and injured more than 300 in the deadliest strike on a Gulf country in a decade. The Saudi-led coalition said an unidentified projectile hit Terminal 4 and started a fire, while air defenses intercepted a cruise missile nearby.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the projectile struck the passenger terminal on Sunday and that competent authorities were addressing the fire. Saudi aviation authorities confirmed Sunday's attack resulted in injuries without giving a number. The airport has been closed since Saturday; a senior aviation source told AFP that operators were told at dawn flights remain suspended, with radar and communications equipment damaged and runways needing inspection. Etihad and Emirates have cancelled Riyadh flights, and Lufthansa Group suspended them through Oct. 16.
Saturday's toll rose to 13 after an Indian national died of injuries, the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in ten years; more than 300 were wounded, including one American. On Thursday, three Saudis were killed when an attack targeted a passenger plane at the same airport. The Houthis claimed the latest targeted attack and renewed their warning to airlines, experts, employees and travelers to avoid Saudi airports and airspace, calling them vulnerable to attack and a theatre of operations for their forces, with the exception of the airports in Mecca and Medina. The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia strongly recommended American citizens avoid the Riyadh airport and said staff would need special authorization to use airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
(Sources: CNN, The Times, AFP, Reuters, Oct. 11)
Source: CNN、《泰晤士报》
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国空军资料图，公有领域（Wikimedia Commons）
