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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday strongly condemned Houthi attacks on the main airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, that killed 12 people and injured hundreds.
Speaking after chairing a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Erdogan said Türkiye stands with Saudi Arabia and its people against what he called “unlawful and inhumane attacks.”
He offered condolences for those killed in the attacks, including people performing the Umrah pilgrimage, and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
“We want peace and stability across our entire region,” Erdogan said, adding that Türkiye would continue defending peace based on “regional ownership.”
Erdogan also announced that work is underway to submit the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed in August by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to parliament in the coming days to complete domestic approval procedures.
Saudi Arabia announced Monday that it had extended the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport after the facility was targeted by a series of attacks.
In a statement, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said the suspension was extended to complete necessary procedures to verify the safety of airport facilities and their operational readiness.
The decision followed multiple attacks on the airport over the weekend.
Saudi Arabia extended the closure of the airport until 2100GMT on Oct. 17, Flightradar24 said on X, adding that the closure affects nearly 700 flights a day.
Separately, Gulf Air announced the cancellation of its flights to and from Riyadh through Oct. 17.
On Sunday afternoon, an unidentified projectile struck the airport’s Terminal 4, killing a Pakistani resident and injuring 11 others, according to Saudi authorities.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile near the airport.
A day earlier, on Saturday, a Houthi attack struck a passenger terminal at the airport, killing 13 people and injuring 309 others, according to Saudi authorities.
The Saudi-led coalition accused the Houthis of carrying out Saturday’s attack and described the strike as a “full-fledged war crime.”
The attacks come amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, with airports and other civilian and energy facilities targeted in recent days.
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