12 killed and over 300 hurt in latest attack on Riyadh airport, Saudi authorities say

CAIRO, 11 OCT (AP): The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, with some in critical condition.

A Saudi-led coalition blamed Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

It was the deadliest attack 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 Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

A missile struck a King Khalid International Airport 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 Saudi statement said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured were being treated at several hospitals.

Footage posted on social media following the attack and analyzed by The Associated Press shows at least one ambulance and another vehicle outside the airport.

Trump said he would consider joining strikes against rebels

The attack — the latest of several in the past week on the airport — is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military support for the kingdom, which has seemingly tried to avoid all-out war with the Houthis.

Shortly after the attack on Saturday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the rebels.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” he said. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

Trump later Saturday said he planned to speak to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and said: “What happened in Saudi Arabia is not acceptable.” Asked if the U.S. might get involved, Trump responded, “We’ll find out.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged in a social media post that an American citizen had been killed in the attack, which he condemned.

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