Riyadh airport attack kills 12 and injures hundreds more after Houthi missile strike

Riyadh airport attack kills 12 and injures hundreds more after Houthi missile strike US President Donald Trump has said he will consider joining Saudi Arabia in striking the Houthis and restarting attacks on Iran following the devastating attack on an international airport. The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital has killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said, with some in a critical condition. The attack was the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, whose fronts have expanded to include the recent surge in fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi-backed government forces there. The statement, which did not assign blame for the attack, said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured are being treated at several hospitals. The attack – the latest of several in the past week on King Khalid International Airport – is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military support for the kingdom. Shortly after the attack on Saturday afternoon, US president Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether America should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official said. Mr Trump said on the question of intervention: “We may. We’re going to look at it. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.” The surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the rebels, who earlier on Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital. Saudi civil aviation authorities earlier said airport operations were suspended and the extent of injuries and damage was being assessed. An official notice to aviators said the suspension was through midnight. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed. Flights diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport. The attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world ’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet the Saudi energy ministry hours after the latest one was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday. Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships. Though the Houthis have told the AP and others they are only targeting Saudi shipping as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider attacks persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it in solidarity with Palestinians. A US bombing campaign sharply limited that. Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defence support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one noting that the US has seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran. Officials have said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive against the Houthis. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said its foreign minister and Omani counterpart spoke by phone about the importance of “supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions” in the region. Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region. Meanwhile, Saudi authorities warned the public this week that “filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability”.