Smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air raid alerts in Saudi capital
A number of apparent explosions have been heard and major disruption reported at the airport.
First reported 2 hours from now · latest update 3 hours from now
An AFP news agency journalist reported that firefighters could be seen trying to extinguish the flames of a burnt-out fuel tank belonging to state oil and gas company Aramco.
The Saudi Civil Defence had sent out phone alerts overnight warning of potential danger in Riyadh and other regions, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning.
Residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they had heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through the city after the alerts.
"I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," said a resident of northern Riyadh, 27. "It was definitely scary. I was not expecting this."
On Friday, the Houthis announced that they had thwarted Saudi attacks on the Yemeni capital Sanaa which they said bore the hallmarks of an Islamic State operation.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea said Saudi Arabia had carried out 300 strikes across Yemen during the past week.
He warned the reported attacks on Sanaa would "not go unanswered".
The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
They have attacked targets inside Saudi Arabia on several occasions in recent months, and said this week that they were responsible for downing a Saudi fighter jet over Yemen.
According to an unconfirmed report from AFP, quoting military sources on both sides of Yemen's civil war, fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces claimed 48 lives on Saturday.
The Houthis said 31 of their fighters had been killed while government sources said their side had lost 17 soldiers, according to the news agency.
On Friday, the International Organization for Migration, a UN body, reported that the number of people displaced as a result of recent fighting had passed 104,796, external.
The Houthis recently seized control of the strategic port city of Mokha and Perim Island, a gateway to a key shipping route used by the Gulf state to export to Asia and Europe.
The group said the naval blockade was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Houthi-controlled north-western Yemen.
Saudi vessels have relied on that stretch of the Red Sea for oil exports since the US and Israel's war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, investment banking giant JP Morgan said it was struggling to predict how oil prices would be impacted by the war, telling investors in a rare note that "we simply don't know how to model the endgame".
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Smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air raid alerts in Saudi capital
A number of apparent explosions have been heard and major disruption reported at the airport.
2 hours from nowThick smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air-raid alerts in Saudi capital
Authorities also issued warnings for Jeddah and Yanbu, a major industrial port and home to vital oil facilitiesFlames and a large plume of black smoke were seen rising above Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after the government sent air-raid alerts to citizens by phone overnight warning of aerial attacks.Explosions were heard in the capital and firefighters battled to extinguish the flames of a burning fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil company Aramco near the city’s King Khalid international airport. Continue reading...
3 hours from now · Donna Ferguson and agenciesBlack smoke seen near Riyadh amid air raid alerts in Saudi Arabia
Flames and plumes of smoke were seen rising near Riyadh airport this afternoon with flights cancelled and delayed. This as fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has killed 48 people in recent hours. The rebels staged a lightning offensive this month, seizing swathes of territory in Yemen and launching a barrage of missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia. Details and analysis by FRANCE 24 international affairs editor, Jamie Smith-Maillet.
3 hours from now · FRANCE24