Riyadh flights disrupted after explosions heard

Flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were delayed or cancelled on October 8 after explosions echoed across the Saudi capital and diplomats were told to shelter in place, according to AFP reporting from diplomats, residents and airport signage.

International schools also took safety measures, residents said. One parent said at least one school sent children into a basement, while two people working in the King Abdullah Financial District said some companies were evacuating staff from the area.

There was no official Saudi statement addressing the morning incident, and no text alerts warning residents of danger. Such alerts had been sent during earlier periods of the conflict.

The explosions came hours after Yemen's Houthis claimed their latest attack on Saudi Arabia, including the capital's international airport. The cause of the explosions heard in Riyadh was not officially confirmed in the supplied information.

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said airports in Riyadh and Abha had been subjected to attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said an Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport and 36 people were wounded. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis blamed the group for those strikes and said they would not go unpunished.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia since beginning a major offensive in Yemen against the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government. Fighting in Yemen has intensified in recent weeks, and UN data says more than 200,000 people have been displaced since July.

Yemen's government has claimed it pushed Houthi fighters out of strategic Red Sea areas and the port city of Mocha. The Houthis say they are holding their territory. Military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported major changes on the ground, and claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify.