Two teens to leave Riyadh hospital weeks after Houthi strike on airport killed father

The teenage sons of a software engineer killed in the missile strike by Houthi rebels on Riyadh’s international airport have been discharged from hospital weeks after the deadly attack, their family said.

Aman Ali, 18, and Wasi Ali, 16, required surgery and continue to receive post-operative care as outpatients in Riyadh's Sulaiman Habib hospital for injuries to their abdomens and limbs caused by falling concrete debris and glass shards, their family said.

The teenagers were among more than 300 people injured when Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a projectile at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10.

Their father Mohammad Yousuf Ali, 46, an Indian engineer who worked in the IT support team of a Riyadh bank, was among 13 civilians killed in the attack, which was described as the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

Mr Ali worked in Riyadh and the family was waiting to board a flight to Madinah for their Umrah pilgrimage when the airport terminal was hit.

“Both boys have been discharged this weekend. They will remain in Riyadh for medical treatment,” Mr Raziuddin, an uncle of the teenagers, told The National from Riyadh.

“We are happy they are finally at home with family and are out of hospital after so many weeks. The older child’s treatment took longer because of the damage caused by the glass in his stomach.”

The boys are staying in a relative’s house in Riyadh with their mother, sister and aunt, who were also at the airport and sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Return home

The Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Vipul, who uses only one name, said the family would return home to Hyderabad, India in the coming weeks when their treatment in Riyadh was completed.

“The boys still require follow-up treatment after the operations they underwent. They are in a stable condition,” Mr Vipul said. “It is better for them to remain here until all treatment is completed because the doctors know their case. The embassy is providing any support to the family that it requires.”

The Saudi government has taken care of the medical treatment for the family and others injured in the Houthi attacks. The family has asked for prayers for Mr Ali’s wife and children.

“The children, their mother need dua [blessings], that’s all they need,” Mr Raziuddin said. “We are just focused on the recovery of the children. We cannot think of anything else. The children will be the support for their mother. She needs their support.”

Show caption: Mohammad Yousuf Ali was an Indian software engineer who work…

Mr Ali had worked for about 20 years in Saudi Arabia and had recently visited his family in Hyderabad to help with his son’s admission to an engineering college. After his mother’s death several months ago, he wanted the entire family to complete the Umrah pilgrimage together.

“The entire family was in Riyadh for a week before this happened,” Mr Raziuddin said. “They were all to go for Umrah but instead it was time for him to go to Allah. He was walking to the washroom when the attack happened and the slab fell on him. His legs were crushed on the spot and the next day he was declared dead in hospital. He was a good man. He supported and cared for his family.”

Saudi Arabia has been hit by numerous attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the past few weeks. Authorities said air defences intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militia toward the south on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia’s southern areas that border Yemen continue to come under Houthi missile and drone attacks aimed at military and energy sites.

Riyadh's international airport partially reopened after its closure early last month, but international services remain disrupted. Eithad Airways, Emirates, British Airways, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air are among the airlines that have cancelled flights to Riyadh due to the regional disruption.