According to i24NEWS, the United States issued a security alert to all Americans in the Middle East. It warns of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions caused by Houthi attacks. A separate US Embassy alert, issued Wednesday, instructed American government staff to keep at least 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the border with Yemen.
Lufthansa and Air India announced they were suspending flights to Riyadh, The Algemeiner said. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that almost half of Riyadh's departures had been canceled by 1500 GMT on Thursday. Cirium projected 31 further cancellations across Saudi airports on Friday.
Reports differ on what weapons the Houthis said they used. The Houthis claimed they fired ballistic missiles at the airport, according to The Jerusalem Post, though they offered no evidence. The group also said it targeted an airport in Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed either attack.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, said coalition forces intercepted two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh and a third fired toward Khamis Mushait. Falling fragments from an intercepted missile struck a kindergarten and a medical complex, Saudi Civil Defense said. The coalition later announced it had destroyed three Houthi missile launchers and vowed a firm response to attacks on civilians.
A witness told the AP that outgoing flights were halted. Passengers were ordered to abandon their checked luggage and evacuate, the witness said.
The Houthis say they are striking the kingdom because it supports government forces in Yemen's reignited civil war. Riyadh, for its part, describes its role as support for a campaign by Yemen's UN-recognized government to recover ground the Houthis captured last month along the Red Sea coast, including on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
