Two Bangladeshi expatriates were killed and 24 others sustained injuries in a drone attack orchestrated by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi armed group targeting King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment confirmed the casualties, releasing detailed identities of the affected citizens as diplomatic missions scrambled to provide emergency assistance.
The deceased have been identified as Md Shahed Ahmed and Md Nasrullah Badrpuri. Shahed, a native of Madla village in Bogura's Shahjahanpur Upazila, was employed as a plumber for a contracting firm's Jeddah project under a valid resident permit. He was returning to his workplace in Jeddah via Riyadh following a brief vacation in Bangladesh after the demise of his brother. Nasrullah, hailing from Badpur village in Cumilla's Nangalkot Upazila, had travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and was waiting at the airport to catch a connecting flight to Jeddah.
According to updates from the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh, the 24 injured nationals comprise 11 resident workers and 13 pilgrims who entered the kingdom on Umrah visas. The injured are currently undergoing treatment at various medical facilities across Riyadh, where embassy representatives have visited them and are actively coordinating with hospital administrations to ensure comprehensive medical care.
Among the severely injured, three individuals—Hafez Hasan, Kazi Nurullah, and Md Omar Faruk—were admitted to the intensive care unit, with embassy officials reporting their medical conditions as stable following bedside visits. Hasan, a resident of Kamrangirchar's Purba Rasulpur in Dhaka, and Nurullah, from Ghatura village in Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila, were both transit passengers bound for Jeddah after performing Umrah. Faruk was a resident expatriate worker stationed in Riyadh.
Other identified injured victims receiving hospital care include Saffat Rahman from Naogaon's Raninagar Upazila, Daudul Islam from Cumilla's Nangalkot Upazila, along with Md Saidul Islam Sourav and Abul Mansur Md Riyaz Uddin. Saffat Rahman, who travelled on an Umrah visa alongside Daudul Islam while transiting through Riyadh, remained unconscious during initial evaluations, while diplomatic staff continue monitoring all admitted patients closely.
