Riyadh/Aden: The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen has described the attack on a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as a war crime and vowed a decisive response, while the Yemeni government condemned the strike and called for international action against the Houthis.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Malki said the attack carried out by the Houthi militia on October 10 targeted a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport and resulted in deaths and injuries among civilian passengers and airport staff.
"The cowardly terrorist attack by the Terrorist Houthi Militia ... constitutes a full-fledged war crime according to the Customary International Humanitarian Law," Al-Malki said, adding that the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen would respond decisively in accordance with customary international humanitarian law.
Separately, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement posted on X that 12 people were killed and 309 others injured in the attack on the Riyadh airport.
According to the authority, those killed included four Saudi citizens and residents of several nationalities, including two Bangladeshis and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. The authority said the injured were receiving treatment at several hospitals, including a number of critically injured patients.
The Yemeni government strongly condemned the attack and expressed full solidarity with the leadership, government and people of Saudi Arabia.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the government described the incident as a dangerous escalation reflecting the Houthi militia's determination to threaten Saudi Arabia's security, target civilian facilities and endanger civilian lives.
In a separate development, the Yemeni government said it had submitted a letter to the United Nations and the UN Security Council regarding an attack carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Aden International Airport last week.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the letter called for condemnation of the attack, accountability for those responsible and full enforcement of the arms embargo imposed on the militia.
The letter stated that addressing such threats requires tackling their root causes, including the continued control of parts of Yemen by an armed militia possessing capabilities used against civilians, civilian facilities and international shipping, according to Yemen's Saba News Agency.