Riyadh airport attack was expected as the Houthis’ way to retaliate: Analysis

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority says 12 people were killed, including four Saudi citizens, and 309 injured, some critically, in Saturday’s attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi authorities blamed the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah, and called it a war crime. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for this attack. Nawaf Obaid, a senior research fellow at King’s College London and security and intelligence analyst, speaking from London, says the attack was expected after ten days or two weeks of Saudi air strikes. He says the initial assessment is that a ballistic missile hit, though not for certain. Asked why Saudi Arabia wasn’t better protected, Obaid says any country of that size will suffer the same vulnerabilities, since even a multi-layered air defence system will let one through. He says Saudi Arabia has asked allies for extra air defence batteries, and that the Houthis have also tried to attack Dammam. The Saudi-led coalition says a projectile fell near another airport in the Eastern Province. The US, Canada and the UK have warned citizens to avoid Riyadh’s airport. US President Donald Trump says he will look at whether to join the Saudi strikes. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://x.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Saudi #Riyadh #Yemen #Houthis #Analysis #AlJazeeraEnglish