At least 12 people, including one American, were killed and 309 others injured in a strike Saturday on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, according to Saudi officials. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said those killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Those injured were receiving treatment at several hospitals, officials said in a social media post.
Several people were in critical condition. The Saudi kingdom has faced an extraordinary series of assaults on the new front in the Iran war. President Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.
We're gonna look at it," Mr. Trump said earlier Saturday when asked about the possibility. "We just found out about the recent attack [on the airport].
So we'll make a decision — we move very quickly." A U.S. State Department spokesperson on Saturday condemned "Houthi terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure and airports." The Iran-backed Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for Saturday's strike. The spokesperson told CBS News the State Department is in close contact with its "Saudi partners." The Houthis, though, claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid that killed three Saudis, including a pilot.
In Saturday's strike, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media. 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 Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.
Saudi civil aviation authorities said airport operations were suspended. 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.
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