At least 12 people, including one American, have been killed and 309 injured in a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said.
The attack on Saturday, October 10, struck a domestic terminal complex housing Terminals 3 and 4, according to a regional official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to brief the media. Several of those injured were reported to be in a critical or serious condition. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0e0e6105f33400e37bb20bb9a8130af))
The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. The injured were taken to hospitals across the area, while emergency teams assessed damage to the airport. ([saudigazette.com.sa](https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/665290/saudi-arabia/12-killed-309-injured-in-riyadh-airport-attack-saudi-aviation-authority-confirms))
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen blamed Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the strike and described it as a “fully-fledged war crime”. The Houthis had claimed responsibility for earlier attacks on Riyadh airport this week, but there was no immediate statement from the group accepting responsibility for Saturday’s attack. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0e0e6105f33400e37bb20bb9a8130af))
Operations at King Khalid International Airport were temporarily suspended as authorities checked the safety of the facilities. Flights were diverted and several foreign embassies advised their citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas. ([saudigazette.com.sa](https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/665290/saudi-arabia/12-killed-309-injured-in-riyadh-airport-attack-saudi-aviation-authority-confirms))
It was the third attack on Riyadh’s airport in a week. Earlier strikes killed three Saudi citizens, including a Saudia airline pilot, and damaged a commercial aircraft on the ground. Airlines including Lufthansa and Air India have suspended or reduced services to the Saudi capital amid the continuing attacks. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0e0e6105f33400e37bb20bb9a8130af))
The latest strike is the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the wider regional conflict began, according to The Associated Press. Saudi Arabia has been drawn deeper into the Yemen conflict after a period of relative calm ended and fighting between Houthi forces and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government intensified. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0e0e6105f33400e37bb20bb9a8130af))
US President Donald Trump said Washington was considering whether to join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. Asked if the United States might intervene, he said: “We may. We’re going to look at it.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack and confirmed that an American citizen was among those killed, saying the strikes showed “a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life”. The Saudi-led coalition has vowed to respond. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0e0e6105f33400e37bb20bb9a8130af))
