Explosions are heard in the Saudi capital as Riyadh airport is reported closed

CAIRO (AP) — Several explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the city’s international airport, a witness told The Associated Press, a day after the kingdom said an attack there killed one person and wounded others.

The cause of the blasts was not immediately known. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have repeatedly claimed attacks against airports, military and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in recent days.

The blasts had an immediate effect on markets and oil prices as the price of crude jumped.

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh “closed again,” the Flightradar24 monitor said Thursday on X. “Last landing 80+ minutes ago. Last take off 90+ minutes ago.”

Fire and ambulance crews were deployed and smoke was visible, the witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The witness said outgoing flights were halted and passengers were instructed to leave all checked-in luggage behind and evacuate the airport. It was not immediately clear how many flights were disrupted.

Saudi authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

On Wednesday, Saudi officials said two attacks on airports claimed by the Houthis had killed three people, as the kingdom was pulled deeper into the latest front in the Iran war . The attack on King Khalid airport killed a Sudanese national and wounded eight other people, and the attack on Abha airport killed Moroccan and Algerian residents and wounded 28 others, officials said.

Attacks on the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, have raised alarm. Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces launched a major ground and air offensive aimed at retaking territory that the Houthis seized a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The rebels' presence on the waterway poses a threat to the crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz , where traffic has been curtailed due to the Iran war.

Also Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said forces destroyed a platform in Yemen’s rebel-held capital of Sanaa that had been used to launch attacks on the Saudi capital. The AP could not independently verify these claims.