Missile Attack on Saudi Airport Kills 12 and Injures Hundreds

A missile hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, killing 12 people and injuring more than 300. The attack was blamed on a rebel group from Yemen called the Houthis, who receive support from Iran. Saudi Arabia closed the airport and kept it shut through at least Sunday night. It was one of the deadliest attacks in any Gulf Arab country since the war with Iran began.

The victims came from many different countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Sudan. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that an American had been killed and called the attack wrong and unjust. One of the victims was an Egyptian flight attendant named Azza Ramzy, 28, who worked for a Saudi airline. The injured were sent to several hospitals around Riyadh.

The missile hit a part of the airport used for domestic flights — flights that travel within the country. A local official said the blast damaged two airport terminals. This was not the first attack on the airport that week, but it was by far the most deadly. The Saudi-led coalition, a group of countries fighting alongside Saudi Arabia, called the strike a 'fully-fledged war crime.'

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was thinking about whether the United States should join Saudi Arabia in striking back against the Houthis. 'We may. We're going to look at it,' Trump said shortly after learning about the attack. He also said he planned to call Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump added that the U.S. makes decisions quickly when it needs to.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have been at war since 2015, when Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war to support that country's official government. A ceasefire in 2022 brought some peace, but fighting started again in July when the Houthis said Saudi Arabia attacked an airport in Yemen. Since then, the violence has gotten much worse, with the Houthis attacking Saudi airports, oil facilities, and military bases.

The Houthi health ministry also said Sunday that 91 people in Yemen had been killed and 168 injured by the Saudi-led coalition over five weeks. They said 60 percent of those killed were women and children. The Houthis warned airlines around the world that flying in Saudi airspace was dangerous. Several major airlines, including Air India, Lufthansa, and FlyDubai, had already stopped flights to Saudi Arabia for safety reasons.

Saudi Arabia has been running low on the missiles it uses to shoot down incoming attacks, called interceptors. The country asked France, Britain, Pakistan, and Egypt to send air defense support. Officials say the United States has also seen its own supply of interceptors go down during the war with Iran. The growing shortage is putting pressure on Saudi Arabia and its allies to find a solution fast.