Rocket attack on Riyadh airport kills 12 and injures 309: the airport is closed, and the danger is tied to that area and the war in Yemen

On Saturday, rockets hit the international airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. According to the Saudi civil aviation authority, 12 people were killed and 309 were injured. This is a grave event and should not be played down. But headlines using words like "bloody", "terrible" and "chaos" leave out what matters most to the reader: where the danger is and who it affects.

What is known

• This is the third attack on the same airport in one week. Four people died in the previous two.
• The rockets also hit one of the passenger terminals.
• The airport is temporarily closed, and flights have been diverted or cancelled.
• The dead are four citizens of Saudi Arabia, two of Bangladesh, and one each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Sudan and the Palestinian territories. The sources say nothing about the nationalities of the injured.
• Some of the injured are in critical condition, so the number of dead may rise.

What is not fully clear

Some portals write that the Houthis claimed responsibility. The German outlet t-online says that at first nobody did, and that it is the Saudi authorities who blame the Houthis. The Houthis did claim the earlier attacks on the same airport. A figure of 50 injured is also going around on social media, but the official number is 309.

Why this is happening

The attacks are part of the war in Yemen. The Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, launched an offensive against the Houthis this week. The Houthis then declared Saudi airspace a zone of military operations. The target, in other words, is Saudi Arabia, and the sources mention no danger to Europe.

What to watch out for

The embassies of the US, the UK, Ireland and Canada have warned their citizens to stay away from the airport and the area around it, and Germany and other Western countries advise against using that airport. Anyone travelling to Saudi Arabia or changing planes in Riyadh should check their flight with their airline.

It is only fair to say this too: things may get worse. The Saudi military has announced a response, and US President Donald Trump said the US will decide quickly whether to join the strikes on the Houthis. So far there are no signs of things calming down.