12 killed and hundreds injured in attack on Riyadh airport
Saudi Arabia is understood to have extended the closure of its main international airport, a day after a missile attack on the facility killed 12 people and left more than 300 injured in a major escalation of the war between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and the kingdom.
A Saudi-led coalition blamed Saturday afternoon’s attack on the Houthis. It was the latest of several in the past week on King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh and marked the deadliest attack in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war.
Following the attack, US President Donald Trump said he is weighing up whether American forces should join Saudi strikes against the rebels.
Airport operations were suspended on Saturday and authorities later extended the closure until at least 9pm local time on Sunday, according to Flightradar 24.
Also on Sunday, the Houthi-run health ministry said 91 Yemenis were killed and 168 injured by the Saudi-led coalition in five weeks. It said 60% of those killed were women and children.
Saturday’s attack struck an airport complex housing terminals three and four for domestic flights, a regional official said.
Those killed were four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. The injured are being treated at several hospitals.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged in a social media post that an American citizen had been killed in the attack, which he condemned.
The Egyptian man was a flight attendant identified as Azza Ramzy, 28, working for a Saudi airline Flybas, according to the Egyptian state-run Al-Qahera New television.
The attack is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military support for the kingdom.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Trump said he was evaluating whether America should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis.
“We may,” he said. “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.”
Later, he said he planned to speak to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Asked if the US might get involved, Mr Trump responded: “We’ll find out.”
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis blamed them for the attack, calling it a “fully-fledged war crime” and vowing a firm response. The airport has no military facilities.
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.
The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot.
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.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region.
Until recently, the Houthis had been largely on the sidelines of the Iran war. Now the rebels are a way for Tehran to apply pressure on a key US ally.
The Saudis and the Houthis began fighting in 2015 when the kingdom entered Yemen’s civil war on behalf of the internationally recognised government.
Relative calm after a 2022 ceasefire ended in July when the Houthis resumed attacks, saying the Saudis fired on Sanaa airport as a plane from Iran was trying to land. That revived anger over the Saudi-led blockade that has largely isolated Houthi-run areas.
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