(Updates) Riyadh Airport Attack
A strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on 10 October killed 12 people and wounded 309, including two Bangladeshis. Saudi-led coalition forces blamed the Houthis. State Minister Shama Obaed Islam said four more Bangladeshis are in intensive care and that 14 have died in the wider West Asia conflict so far.
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UPDATES
- A strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 10 October killed 12 people and injured 309, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities.
- The dead include four Saudis and two Bangladeshis, along with one person each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
- State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said four more Bangladeshis are in intensive care, and that the government will pay to bring the bodies home.
- Saudi and US officials blamed Yemen's Houthis, who had not commented when the reports were published. Bangladesh's foreign ministry also called it a Houthi attack and condemned it.
- The US is still on the fence about whether or not to join Saudi Arabia in the war against the Houthis but have officially condemned the attack.
- US President Donald Trump said he "will be speaking" with Saudi Arabia's leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), soon.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the US government's condolences on X, writing, " We stand with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and extend our condolences to the victims and their families."
- Other countries that have expressly condemned the Houthi attacks in a show of solidarity: Canada; Egypt; Qatar; Pakistan; Jordan; Oman; Palestine; Syria; Japan; Malaysia, and India.
- Operations at the airport were suspended after the attack.
- Bangladesh has now lost 14 nationals in the wider West Asia conflict since the war began, the State minister said. This total covers the whole conflict, not only the airport strike.
Context
The war spread across the Gulf after the US and Israel attacked Iran, with fighting beginning on 28 February. Bangladeshi workers have been caught up in it for months. In September, the Expatriates' Welfare minister said 12 Bangladeshis had been killed in the conflict. The Riyadh airport had already been attacked several times in the past week, killing four people. Saudi Arabia employed 48 percent of the 8.6 million Bangladeshis who found jobs abroad since 2014–15.
Why it matters
The strike is the deadliest on Saudi soil since May 2015, and it hit a civilian transport hub rather than a military site. That raises pressure on Riyadh and its allies, including the US, to respond. A Saudi led coalition has already promised a "decisive" reply, which could widen the fighting. Airport closures also disrupt travel for the many workers who depend on Gulf jobs, and nearly 800 flights from Bangladesh to the region have already been cancelled since the war began. The Asian Development Bank has warned that the conflict could weaken labour demand and squeeze migrant incomes across South Asia. Those risks are informed analysis. The casualty figures and the attack itself are established facts.
What we think
Dhaka’s choices are narrow. It can press Riyadh for better protection and quick compensation for workers, and it can build evacuation and insurance plans before a crisis. Wider job markets in other countries offer some protection, though replacing Saudi demand is a long project. Careful neutrality in a conflict between Gulf states and Iran backed groups also protects workers on both sides.