Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Airport targeted by ballistic missiles as passengers report giant explosion over Middle Eastern hub
The Saudi Arabian military has shot down a missile fired at King Khalid International Airport - where thousands of Brits fly every year
By Sam Webb
4th November 2017, 6:21 pm
Updated: 4th November 2017, 6:49 pm
MISSILES have been fired at a major Middle Eastern airport used by thousands of Brits every year, it has been reported.
The Saudi Arabian military has shot down a missile fired at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, according to local reports.
Video shows moments after a missile was intercepted at Riyadh Airport, Saudi Arabia after allegedly being launched from Yemen Passengers at the airport, which British Airways flies direct to from the UK every day, said they heard an explosion.
A column of black smoke can be seen in a video posted at the scene as people in the airport are overheard talking in panicked voices.
Amateur video reportedly taken at the scene shows four anti-ballistic missiles being fired into the sky followed by loud explosions.
It is believed to have been fired from Yemen, where a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia has launched thousands of air strikes against the armed Houthi movement, which now controls much of the country.
Al Masirah, a TV network run by the Houthi rebels, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.
The Saudi military may have successfully used a missile defence system to shoot down the incoming threat.
Yemenis gather at the site of an air strike on the Sahar district of the northern Yemeni governorate of Saada on Wednesday Al Masirah, a TV network run by the Houthi rebels, claimed responsibility for the explosion on their social media account on Saturday.
The rebels said they launched a Burkan missile, which has a range of 420 miles, towards Riyadh.
Earlier today a Saudi-led military coalition said on Saturday an air strike that hit a market in Yemen's northern Saadah province was a legitimate military target, the Saudi news agency reported.
On Wednesday, medics and a Reuters witness said an air strike carried out by the coalition killed 26 people at a hotel and an adjoining market.
The attack, which struck the Sahar district of the vast territory that borders Saudi Arabia, demolished the budget hotel and reduced market stalls outside to a heap of twisted sheet metal. The coalition statement reviewed the incident and quoted its spokesman as saying the target was the gathering point for some armed Houthi militants.
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