2 Bangladeshis killed in Houthi missile attack at Riyadh airport, 4 in ICU

Two Bangladeshis were killed in an attack by Houthi rebels at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Four other Bangladeshis injured in the attack are receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of King Khalid Hospital in Riyadh.

Foreign Affairs State Minister Shama Obaed Islam shared the information while responding to questions from journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier, when the Houthis launched an attack, a Bangladeshi was killed. Now, two more have been killed, the state minister said.

Referring to the 14 Bangladeshis who have already died in the Middle East conflict, Shama Obaed said, “We hope this disaster will end and these attacks will stop. It is extremely painful to accept such deaths.”

In a statement on Saturday’s attack in Riyadh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a missile struck Terminal-3 of King Khalid International Airport at around 3:20pm on Saturday. Passengers from Bangladesh and several other countries were waiting at the terminal at the time.

Two Bangladeshi nationals were killed in the incident. They were Md Shahed Ahmed of Madla village in Shahjahanpur upazila of Bogura and Md Nasrullah Badarpuri of Badarpur village in Nangalkot upazila of Cumilla.

Diplomatic sources in Riyadh said Bangladeshi passengers travelling with US-Bangla Airlines, Saudia and Riyadh Air were at the airport during the attack.

Among the passengers who were not injured, 17 are staying at the Marriott Hotel, 25 at the Radisson Hotel and 40 at the residential hall of Princess Nourah University.

Four injured Bangladeshis are currently receiving treatment in the ICU of King Khalid Hospital. Two other passengers who were not injured are also staying there with them.

Shama Obaed said, “We are deeply saddened by this incident. We pray to Almighty Allah to grant them Jannah and we hope we will not receive any more bad news.”

The state minister also said the safety and welfare of Bangladeshis working abroad remained the government’s top priority.

“The prime minister always says that our first responsibility is to ensure the safety and look after the large number of Bangladeshis working abroad, our brothers and sisters who are our remittance warriors. That is our top priority and we are trying our best to fulfill it. Our mission there is keeping in touch with other Bangladeshis, gathering updates on the casualties, and taking necessary steps to ensure our people remain as safe as possible," she said.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has temporarily suspended flights to Riyadh following the missile attack at the airport.

Asked whether any Bangladeshi flight was at King Khalid International Airport at the time of the attack or whether any Bangladeshi aircraft had been damaged, Shama Obaed said the government had no such information so far.

“We have no information of that kind so far. Flights were suspended as soon as we received news of the attack. We hope no such incident will happen again,” she said.