Houthi attack on Riyadh airport kills 12, injures over 300

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Trump considers joining Saudi strikes after Riyadh airport attack

At least 12 people were killed and more than 300 injured in an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, according to Saudi authorities, in the deadliest assault on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

The Saudi civil aviation authority said the dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. The latest official count put the number of injured at 309.

The attack was the third reported strike on the airport in a week, escalating a campaign by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement amid the wider regional conflict linked to the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

US President Donald Trump said Washington was considering joining Saudi military operations against the Houthis.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters, adding that the administration had only recently learned of the latest attack and would make a decision.

Saudi authorities suspended airport operations and diverted all flights following Saturday’s attack. The disruption affected the airport serving Riyadh, a city of around eight million people.

An eyewitness told Reuters they heard an explosion and saw injured people lying on the ground inside the airport. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading towards the facility, while a video verified by Reuters showed emergency vehicles at the scene.

An injured traveller said they saw an object moving across the sky before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.

The US embassy in Riyadh strongly advised American citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. Western embassies also urged their nationals to stay away as airlines cancelled or diverted services.

The Houthis have warned international airlines against flying through Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations, while exempting airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The latest attack has raised concerns about the vulnerability of Saudi Arabia’s air defences as the kingdom continues its military campaign against the Houthis.

The Houthis had not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack at the time of the Reuters report. A Saudi-led military coalition vowed to respond.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the airport attacks, saying they demonstrated a “blatant disregard for innocent civilian life”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the strike, reiterating that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law and must stop immediately.

The attacks earlier in the week killed four people and caused extensive damage to a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac, according to the report.

The Houthis’ campaign has intensified as Saudi Arabia supports a ground offensive by Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the group.

The latest violence follows the collapse of a ceasefire reached between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in 2022. The conflict escalated again this summer, with Houthi forces advancing into territory around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive this week to retake the territory, but progress has reportedly been slow. The Houthis have also placed Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, under siege.

Saudi Arabia entered Yemen’s war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition seeking to dislodge the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa. The conflict has caused widespread destruction and contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people through fighting, famine and related causes.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government have reported hundreds of strikes against Houthi-held territory. The Houthis have alleged that some attacks killed civilians, including women and children. Reuters said it could not independently verify those claims.

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