One Taiwanese injured in attack on Saudi Arabia airport: MOFA

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's government on Tuesday condemned a series of attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week that resulted in deaths and civilian casualties, adding that one Taiwanese national was injured in one of the attacks and hospitalized in Saudi Arabia.

In a press release issued Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) did not disclose when or where the Taiwanese national was injured or their identity, citing privacy concerns. It said only that Taiwan's representative office in Saudi Arabia had sent officials to visit the national at the hospital.

MOFA strongly condemned the Houthis in Yemen for the series of attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and urged the group to immediately cease its attacks.

Meanwhile, MOFA raised its travel alert for Saudi Arabian border regions on Sunday, with Yemen on the highest level -- red.

The ministry also raised the travel alert for the rest of Saudi Arabia to the second-highest level -- orange -- advising Taiwanese nationals to avoid unnecessary travel to the country.

Under MOFA's four-tier travel alert system, advisories are classified as gray, yellow, orange and red, in ascending order of risk.

In a social media post, Taiwan's representative office in Saudi Arabia urged Taiwanese nationals in the country to avoid going to King Khalid International Airport.

The office also urged Taiwanese nationals to remain vigilant in the event of further attacks, follow safety instructions issued by local media and Saudi authorities, and maintain open lines of communication so the office can contact them when necessary.

In an emergency, Taiwanese nationals in Saudi Arabia can call the representative office for assistance at +966-505-223-725 or 0505-223-725, or ask their families in Taiwan to contact MOFA's 24-hour emergency hotline at +886-800-085-095, the ministry said.

A missile strike by the Houthis in Yemen hit Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, killing 13 people and wounding hundreds. A day later, another attack killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others, according to Saudi authorities, who have since announced that the airport will remain closed until Oct. 17.

The Houthis have said they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war, as well as an airstrike on the airport in Sanaa.