Saudi Arabia halted public attack alerts days before Riyadh airport strikes killed at least 18 and wounded more than 300, after complaints the warnings were disruptive

Saudi Arabia stopped issuing public warnings of imminent military attacks days before a series of strikes on Riyadh airport killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300, Reuters reported, citing Western and Arab officials and regional analysts.

Two officials told Reuters that authorities had described the alerts as too disruptive after residents complained they were being woken at night. The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment on that account. It has not publicly explained why warnings were absent before four attacks on Riyadh over the past week.

The last public alert before the attacks was issued on September 29 for the southern province of Najran. Saudi civil defense sent new warnings on Monday, October 12, about potential threats in Riyadh and southern cities; Reuters said it could not determine whether the alerts resumed in response to the airport strikes.

Western embassies continued sending internal missile and drone alerts to staff, but people familiar with the matter told Reuters there was no embassy warning before Saturday’s airport strike. Riyadh had come under attack about a dozen times during the period without public alerts, according to two Western officials.

Saudi Arabia began sending threat alerts to mobile phones and social media through a national early-warning system in May. The civil defense authority also issues other public notices, including weather warnings.