Houthis warn airlines and passengers not to use Saudi Arabian airports after deadly Riyadh attack – BBC

Yemen's Houthis warn aviation firms and passengers against using Saudi airports and airspace, after 12 people were killed in an attack on the international airport in Riyadh
More than 300 were injured in Saturday's attack on King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia – verified footage captures the aftermath of the strike
The physical damage can be quickly repaired, but Saudi Arabia's reputation as a safe haven of stability is taking a battering, writes our security correspondent
The Houthi statement on Sunday did not reference Saturday's attack – but the Iran-backed group said they were behind separate strikes on the same airport on Thursday
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggests the UK could "potentially" provide more support for Saudi Arabia while US President Donald Trump says the US may get involved in offensive strikes
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Edited by Angus Thompson and Caitlin Doherty
The Saudi-led coalition says that further attacks have been launched against King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh.
Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the coalition, says that an "unknown projectile" hit Passenger Hall No. 4 at the airport, causing a fire which authorities were dealing with.
In a separate update, he says that air defences have intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of the airport.
The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen from the country's internationally recognised government.
Marc Ashdown
Business correspondent
King Khalid International Airport is one of the busiest in the Middle East. Around 50 airlines use it to transport tens of thousands of passengers every day.
But in the aftermath of the attack, and with the Houthis issuing a fresh warning to airlines against using Saudi airports and airspace, hundreds of flights are being delayed or cancelled.
In a few weeks time, Riyadh is also due to host an annual investment event known as ‘Davos in the desert’.
A host of politicians, heads of state, and key players in the world of finance are set to attend; and although the organisers are yet to comment, there’s concern that it could be disrupted.
The conflict between the US and Iran has already seen around 80 sites across the Gulf targeted – mainly gas fields and oil refineries – causing an estimated $60 billion dollars worth of damage. The World Bank recently downgraded its growth forecast for the region.
But this attack will be felt far more widely. It’s likely to heap yet more pressure on economies across the world, which are grappling with rising inflation caused by the war pushing the cost of daily essentials ever higher.
The cancellation and delays of hundreds of flights to and from Saudi airports has brought disruption to airports further afield.
These are some of the latest pictures from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, where stranded passengers have been telling Reuters about the short-notice cancellation of their flights.
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live in Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.
Mohammad Jubair told Reuters he was given no warning before his flight was abruptly cancelled
Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir, vice-president of Yemen's internationally-recognised government, has called for "decisive actions" from regional and international partners.
The attack on the international airport in Riyadh "demands a firm regional and international position that goes beyond statements of condemnation to practical measures", he says.
"We stand steadfastly alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" and "highly appreciate its advanced role in curbing the Houthi terrorist militia", he says.
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV has just reported that "the Saudi enemy" launched an airstrike on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition (which backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government) has not yet commented. Nor has the Saudi government.
It comes after the coalition blamed the Houthis for an attack on the international airport in Riyadh on Saturday.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia is warning government employees they need special authorisation to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as the airports in Jeddah and Dammam. 
The warning has been extended, with a similar alert yesterday only specifying the Riyadh airport.
The embassy also "strongly recommends" that all US citizens avoid the Riyadh airport and surrounding areas.
"Please take extreme caution when using all major airports in Saudi Arabia," it says.
The Australian embassy in Saudi Arabia has advised members of its community to "shelter in place until further notice".
Sharing the advice in a Facebook post, it says: "Stay indoors, follow the advice of local authorities, and avoid unnecessary travel."
No further information is given, but it follows a strike on the international airport in Riyadh on Saturday, and separate strikes earlier this month.
Russia has condemned Saturday's attack on King Khalid International Airport.
In a statement shared by the foreign ministry, it calls on "all parties to the conflict… to completely refrain from attacks on civilian infrastructure".
There are no Russian victims of the strike, according to preliminary information.
The foreign ministry says "there is no alternative" to resolving the crisis in the region "through political and diplomatic means".
Following the attack on King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said it "temporarily suspended" airport operations "pending the completion of damage assessments and safety inspections".
With travel plans now disrupted, these images from yesterday show people gathered outside a metro station on the road to the airport:
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told British nationals to avoid travelling to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh
The UK Foreign Office is advising against all travel to parts of Saudi Arabia.
It advises against:

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband earlier said he was "appalled" by the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, adding "we stand in solidarity with those affected".
He told British nationals to avoid the airport, following Saudi authority advice, and to follow the government's travel advice, external.
Hesham Shawish
BBC Monitoring Middle East Journalist
This morning we saw the fresh warning from the Houthis, warning people against using Saudi airports and airspace.
The latest warning shows that Houthi signalling towards Saudi civilian aviation is part of the pressure campaign against the Saudis to try and end their blockade of Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.
This type of warning is really intended to amplify the psychological and economic impact. We've already seen hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed by airlines, so it does have a major impact.
It will make travellers and insurers more wary too, so it is intended to cause a lot of damage beyond physical damage.
We'll likely see an increase in the diplomatic lobbying for countries to either condemn the Houthi escalation against Saudi airports or for an intervention from Pakistan and Turkey – the two other signatories of the Mecca pact, a joint defence agreement.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has condemned Saturday's attack on its neighbour Saudi Arabia.
These attacks are a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty" of Saudi Arabia, says the foreign ministry in a statement.
It says it reaffirms its "full solidarity" with Saudi Arabia and "support for all measures aimed at safeguarding the Kingdom's security and stability".
By Benedict Garman and Sherie Ryder
BBC Verify has checked four videos showing the aftermath of the attack on King Khalid International Airport.
The clips show a smoke plume rising over the airport building, a man walking among damage, dust and debris, a passenger walking between gates as sirens blare and emergency vehicles at the terminal entrance with people gathered nearby. At least one appears to have blood on his clothes.
But footage of a strike at Dubai International Airport earlier in the year is also circulating on social media misleadingly claiming it shows the Riyadh strike.
A video of an explosion near an airport entrance and another showing a terminal filled with dust and debris are old videos of a previous attack that have been online for weeks.
As fighting between the Saudi-backed Yemen government and the Houthi rebel is intensifying.
But why does this matter to the rest of the world?
Radio 4's The Briefing Room, featuring BBC senior international investigations correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi and our security correspondent Frank Gardner, has tackled that question.
You can listen back to the programme on BBC Radio 4.
Houthi supporters attend a protest in Sanaa against Saudi Arabia amid an escalation in fighting, 9 October
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthis are an Iran-backed armed political and Shia Muslim religious group from northern Yemen. They align themselves with the Iran-led "axis of resistance" against Israel, the US and the wider West – along with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
They emerged in the 1990s, and are led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi. They want to topple the internationally-backed government of Yemen.
The group now controls somewhere between a quarter and a third of Yemen's territory and 70-80% of its population.
Why are they fighting Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is a rival of Iran. It feared that the Houthis would take Yemen over and make it an Iranian satellite state.
So, in 2015 it formed a coalition of Arab countries – supported by the US – that intervened on behalf of Yemen's internationally-recognised government.
Over years, Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes and the Houthis have sent drones and missiles, but the Saudis have been unable to dislodge the Houthis from most of the territory they've seized. Fighting has led to a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Why has fighting escalated?
An informal ceasefire had been in place between the the Saudi-led coalition (which backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government) and the Houthi movement since March 2022.
It's since degraded. After the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas, the Houthis began firing drones and missiles at Israel. The group said it was in support of Palestinians.
In July, the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia, renewing missile and drone attacks on its ports and oil sites.
They said they were retaliating for what the Houthis say is a years-long Saudi blockade, and for an air strike on Sanaa airport.
It's flared up further in recent weeks, after the rebel group seized large stretches of the Red Sea coast in a surprise September attack. Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in response.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi
The prime minister of Iraq's office has issued a statement condemning the attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
The attack resulted in an "undermining of regional security and stability", it says in a statement from the armed forces spokesperson.
It says Iraq "rejects any escalation in military action and acts of aggression", because it "further entrenches disputes and has negative repercussions for peace".
"Iraq has consistently supported dialogue and understanding as an alternative to military or violent action", it says.
Smoke and flames seen at King Khalid airport in Riyadh, 8 Oct
Saturday's attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is the latest in a spate of attacks on Saudi Arabia.
On 8 October, the same airport was subject to two attacks that killed three Saudi Arabian nationals, the civil aviation authority said.
It added that the first attack on Thursday targeted the airport while the second had struck an aircraft belonging to state carrier Saudia. Yemen's Houthi group said it attacked the airport with cruise missiles.
There were also attacks at two other Saudi airports on the 6 and 7 October.
Two were killed and 28 wounded in an attack at Abha International Airport, the civil aviation body said on Wednesday. Another person was killed at King Khalid airport in Riyadh. Authorities did not confirm which attack took place on which day.
Frank Gardner
Security correspondent
Saudi Arabia wasn’t ready for this.
The Houthis’ attacks over the past few days have hit the country’s critical infrastructure in the form of the capital’s main airport, apparently penetrating Saudi air defences with ease.
The physical damage can be quickly repaired, but the country’s reputation as a safe haven of stability is taking a battering.
Not since the al-Qaeda insurgency of the mid-2000s has the kingdom faced such a serious threat. The Saudi government overcame that challenge through an effective hearts-and-minds campaign.
Then it weathered the Arab Spring uprisings around the region which saw off leaders in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. It even shrugged off – with some annoyance – an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Riyadh in March.
But this is different. Saudi Arabia may have one of the most powerful air forces in the Middle East – it has been carrying out devastating air strikes on Houthi positions – but the Houthis know exactly where to hit back: at the soft underbelly of the Saudi economy.
From Jizan on the Red Sea to the petrochemical complex at Khurais, the Iran-backed Houthis are delivering explosive drones and missiles with deadly accuracy.
This war now looks like it will intensify before it ends in another shaky truce.
Some more reaction now from leaders across Europe.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the attack "marks a dangerous escalation".
In a post on X, she adds: "We stand in solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its people."
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says he is "appalled" by the attack, adding "we stand in solidarity with those affected".
He advises British nationals to avoid the airport and follow the government's travel advice, external and that of Saudi authorities.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting says the UK is already supporting Saudi Arabia with air-to-air refuelling support.
Asked on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme if the UK's support could go further following last night's deadly attack, he says "potentially".
Streeting added that in the context of Houthi attacks and an escalation, the attack last night on a civilian target "cannot be justified under any circumstances".
When pushed on whether the UK would get involved in offensive operations – as President Donald Trump has suggested the US may do – he says that is "not what we're looking at at this stage".
"We've always been clear that there isn't a military solution to this conflict," the defence secretary adds.
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