MIDDLE EAST — Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on October 9 that two attacks on October 8 targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a Saudia aircraft on the ground.
GACA said the attacks killed three Saudi citizens and injured Saudi citizens and residents of several nationalities, with injuries ranging from minor to critical, and that airport operations had resumed and air traffic had returned to normal.
Saudia, the national airline, said on October 9 that Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami lost his life on October 8 in the incident at the airport.
In a separate incident on October 9, a vessel was struck at 10:00 AM UTC (2:00 PM local UAE time) 13 nautical miles, about 15 miles (24 km), west of Al Jazeera, a port in Ras Al Khaimah. The notice of that strike names no attacker and no ship.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on October 8 that the United States will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, that talks with Iran were under way, and that a blockade of Iranian ports would remain.
The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia said on October 8 that it was aware of attacks on the Riyadh airport, that the Houthis, the Iran-aligned armed group fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government from the north, had engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia including civilian airports, and that U.S. government employees now need special authorization to use the airport.
In a separate, earlier incident, a warning issued on October 8 describes a crude oil tanker struck by an unknown projectile at 5:09 PM UTC on October 6 while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It reported no casualties and names no ship.
Saudi Civil Defense said on October 8 that debris from a ballistic missile, which it said had been intercepted and destroyed after a Houthi launch, damaged a kindergarten and a medical clinic complex in Riyadh. That notice gives no casualty count.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European air-safety regulator, revised its Saudi airspace bulletin on October 9 and told operators not to fly in defined portions of the Jeddah flight information region, the airspace Saudi controllers manage.
Locations Affected
King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. GACA said two attacks on October 8 hit airport facilities and a Saudia aircraft. Published airport references place the field near 24.96, 46.70, about 22 miles (35 km) north of central Riyadh. The October 8 U.S. mission alert printed no impact coordinate.
A kindergarten and a medical clinic complex in Riyadh. Saudi Civil Defense said ballistic-missile debris fell there on October 8. The notice printed no street or coordinate.
Waters west of Al Jazeera Port, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British office that takes security reports from merchant ships, placed the October 9 strike 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera. Port references place the harbor near 25.72, 55.80. The strike position is approximate, near 25.72, 55.56, worked from that distance and a due-west bearing, with a possible error of about 2 miles (3 km) because the warning printed no coordinates and port references differ in the second decimal.
Strait of Hormuz. UKMTO Warning 159-26 placed an October 6 projectile strike on a crude oil tanker in the strait and printed no position. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), the combined maritime desk that publishes threat levels for the Gulf, kept the strait at severe in its October 8 note.
Jeddah flight information region, Saudi Arabia. EASA’s October 9 revision tells operators not to fly in portions of that region bounded by listed navigation points, and to use caution in the rest of it.
