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Shocking video released Monday shows the moment Houthi terrorists bombed Riyadh international airport, killing 13 people — including an American citizen — and injuring more than 300 others.
Unsuspecting travelers were calmly waiting in lines inside the terminal of King Khalid International Airport on Saturday when there was a sudden, giant explosion, the footage released by Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry shows.
Travelers rushed for cover as smoke filled the terminal building and a fire raged.
Other passengers frantically ran through security checkpoints while airport workers cowered under their desks in terror as pieces of the roof crashed towards the floor.
At least 13 people were killed, including one American. Four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Palestinian, a Syrian, a Sudanese, and an Indian national were also killed, NBC reported. The victims have not been publicly named.
King Khalid airport, which has been struck four times in the past five days, has been closed since Saturday’s missile attack – the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began.
A projectile struck the same passenger terminal on Sunday, killing a Pakistani national, Saudi authorities revealed, without publicly naming the victim.
But the Saudi-led coalition – which fights in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthis – intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile near the airport on Sunday.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Riyadh airport, and also claimed to have attacked Dammam airport, threatening further strikes.
The group claims the attacks are a response to “brutal Saudi aggression” in Yemen, according to the BBC. It claims a Saudi strike on a home in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa killed a child and injured six others.
Earlier on Sunday, Houthi leaders warned online Saudi airports are “vulnerable to attack and have become a theater of operations for [its] forces.”
“We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously,” the group said. “Saudi Arabia bears responsiblity for any failed interceptions.”
Houthi rebels are also targeting energy facilities but they are not bombing the airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Saudi’s energy minister, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, has since warned that the country’s response “must be equally serious” to Houthi aggression.
Riyadh airport remains closed Monday, Saudi’s aviation authority said, with the US Embassy & Consulates in the Arab nation warning Americans to be “aware of flight cancellations and airspace closures.”
US government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization to use King Khalid airport in light of the recent strikes.
Canadian citizens have also been urged to avoid travel to and from Riyadh airport.
At least 540 flights scheduled to arrive and depart Riyadh on Monday have already been canceled, according to FlightRadar, as have more than 300 slated for Tuesday. The number looks set to increase.
Flights are departing and landing at the airports in Jeddah and Dammam but travelers should expect delays.
With Post wires
