Major attack on Saudi airport kills 12, injures over 300; U.S. weighs response

CAIRO — The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, the deadliest strike on any gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war.

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

It marked a major escalation in the growing front in the regional war, driven by a recent surge in fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi-backed government forces there.

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, which did not assign blame for the attack, 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, including many in critical condition, were being treated at several hospitals.

Video posted on social media following the attack and analyzed by the Associated Press shows emergency vehicles outside the airport.

Trump said he would consider joining strikes against rebels

The attack — the latest of several in the last week on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh — 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, President 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,” Trump said about the prospect of U.S. intervention. “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, adding that “what happened in Saudi Arabia is not acceptable.” Asked whether 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.

“These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now,” he said.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis blamed the rebels 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 Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot.

Airport operations suspended

Saudi civil aviation authorities 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 were diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport.

Also Saturday, U.S. Central Command said a fighter jet struck and disabled a commercial cargo vessel with a precision munition in the Gulf of Oman, part of U.S. efforts to maintain a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica had departed an Iranian port and did not heed repeated warnings. The ship’s crew was unharmed, CENTCOM said.

For Iran, the fighting puts pressure on a key U.S ally

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 strike was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.

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 U.S. ally.

The Saudis and the Houthis began fighting in 2015 when the kingdom entered Yemen’s civil war on behalf of the internationally recognized government. Relative calm after a 2022 ceasefire ended in July when the Houthis resumed attacks, saying the Saudis fired on the 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.

Now fighting has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces in an attempt to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that’s a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

Though the Houthis have said they are targeting Saudi shipping only as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider assaults persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, in solidarity with Palestinians. A U.S. bombing campaign sharply curtailed that.

Saudis running low on interceptors, officials say

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defense support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one noting that the U.S. has seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.

Officials said U.S. 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 Oman’s 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 at times played a mediator role 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.”

Flight disruptions are growing

The Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theater for their military operations.

At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been canceled over the last 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Before the latest attack, Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines were among the airlines suspending flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency had expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis’ ability to strike targets deeper inside the kingdom, including Riyadh, and a “greater focus on aviation infrastructure.”

The missile and drone attacks and interception efforts “create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft,” it said.

Two regional officials said Houthi attacks on the Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media. The Saudi national carrier said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.

Magdy and Anna write for the Associated Press. Anna reported from Jerusalem. AP writers Victoria Eastwood in Cairo, Collin Binkley in Washington and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.