‘You will continue your Umrah’: Saudi minister’s promise to injured UAE teacher after Riyadh attack

Dubai: Saudi Health Minister Fahad Al-Jalajel visited people injured in the attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, including a UAE-based teacher who was travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

During his visit to Riyadh hospitals, Al-Jalajel checked on the patients’ conditions and reviewed the medical care being provided. He assured them that they would receive the necessary treatment and support throughout their recovery.

According to Saudi state-run television channel Al Ekhbariya, the teacher told the minister that she and another UAE-based teacher had arrived in Riyadh on a connecting flight from Abu Dhabi when Saturday’s attack occurred. The teachers were due to continue their journey to Mecca to perform Umrah.

The teacher praised the doctors treating her. Al-Jalajel reassured both women that they would receive the necessary care and could continue with their pilgrimage plans after recovering.

“You're not part of what happened. We know that. For that reason, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are telling us to take full care of you, even the recovery, and that you continue on your Umrah,” the minister told her.

Minister checks on injured Sudanese air hostess

Saudi Health Minister Fahad Al-Jalajel also assured the wellbeing of Sudanese air hostess Raham Yassine Ahmed, who was injured in the Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The minister followed up on her health as part of efforts to ensure that those injured in the attack receive medical care and support.

309 injured receiving treatment

All 309 people injured in Saturday’s missile attack on King Khalid International Airport are receiving medical care at several hospitals, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement on X on Sunday.

GACA said the fatalities included four Saudi citizens and eight expatriates: two Bangladeshis and one national each from Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, the United States and Sudan.

India’s Embassy in Riyadh subsequently confirmed that an Indian national injured in Saturday’s attack had died on Sunday, taking the reported death toll from that incident to 13. The embassy said it was in contact with the deceased man’s family and would assist with the repatriation of his remains.

Ten other Indian nationals were reported injured in Saturday’s attack.

Fresh attack kills one, injures 11

Saudi Arabia reported another attack on the airport on Sunday, when a projectile struck a passenger terminal a day after the deadly missile strike.

Saudi authorities said a Pakistani national was killed and 11 people were injured in the latest attack on the domestic terminal complex.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said a projectile had struck the passenger terminal. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks and other strikes.

King Khalid International Airport has been struck four times in five days and has remained closed since Saturday’s missile attack, which killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, some critically.

Saudi authorities also reported an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, on the Gulf coast, but provided few details.

Saudi coalition condemns airport attack

Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the Houthi militia carried out the attack on a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport, according to a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

Civilian travellers and airport workers were among those killed and injured, Al-Maliki said.

He described the attack as a war crime under international humanitarian law and said coalition forces would respond firmly in accordance with the law.