A missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, left at least 12 dead and 309 injured on Saturday, October 10. Some of the injured are in critical condition. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation released the toll on Sunday.
According to meganoticias.cl, citing information from AFP, the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in support of Yemen's government blamed the attack on the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran. The coalition promised to respond "firmly".
Those killed include four Saudi citizens and eight foreign residents: two from Bangladesh and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. The sources consulted do not mention any Chileans among the victims.
The injured are receiving care at various hospitals across the country. The aviation authority suspended airport operations "temporarily" and said they would remain suspended until the damage assessment is completed and the safety of the facilities is verified. It did not say when flights would resume.
Turki al Maliki, the coalition's spokesperson, described the attack as a "war crime" against a passenger terminal, in which travelers and airport workers were killed and injured.
It is the second attack on Riyadh airport in 24 hours. On Friday, another attack attributed to the Houthis killed three people and damaged a Saudi airline's plane. On Wednesday, according to the authorities, similar attacks on the airports in Riyadh and Abha, in the kingdom's southwest, left another three dead and more than 30 injured.
The Houthis are a Shiite insurgent movement that controls part of Yemen. In recent weeks, they have claimed responsibility for several drone and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi civilian and military facilities, including airports and power plants. They say they are responding to Saudi Arabia's bombing of their positions in Yemen, carried out in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
US President Donald Trump called the attack "unacceptable" and announced that he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Hans Grundberg, the United Nations envoy for Yemen, said the attack "constitutes a serious escalation" that complicates peace efforts, and called on the Houthis to stop attacks on civilian targets.
For the region, the risk extends beyond the war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is central to the global energy market, and attacks on its infrastructure increase tensions in the Persian Gulf. Those tensions can affect fuel-importing countries such as Chile.
On Saturday night, Al Maliki reported that a projectile landed near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the country's east. He provided no details about the type of weapon, possible casualties or damage.