Authorities said Houthi-claimed attacks on Riyadh airport killed three Saudi citizens, as airlines suspend at least 124 flights

An airline pilot was among three Saudi citizens killed in attacks targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft, the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said on Friday.

Several people “of different nationalities” were wounded.

The attacks on Thursday were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels last weekend.

They also marked a significant escalation on the latest front in the Iran war , which has kept oil prices and financial markets volatile .

U.N.

Special Envoy Hans Grundberg was scheduled to brief the Security Council on developments in Yemen later on Friday.

By Friday afternoon, at least 124 flights to and from Riyadh had been canceled after hundreds more were canceled a day earlier, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

The Indian Embassy said Air India had suspended operations through to Saturday, while the Lufthansa Group said its airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh through to Oct.

16.

Pakistan International Airlines has also suspended flights to Riyadh because of the evolving situation in the Middle East, an airline spokesman said.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis’ ability to strike targets deeper inside the kingdom, including Riyadh, and a “greater focus on aviation infrastructure.” The guidance, updated Friday, adds that “recurrent missile and drone attacks, together with the activation of air-defense systems, create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft, as well as risks associated with missile and drone overflights, interception activity and falling debris.” Yemen’s Houthis claim the attack The first attack on Thursday targeted airport facilities, while the second struck the aircraft, the Saudi statement said.

It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.

Among the dead was Capt.

Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement.