"We may. We're going to look at it," Trump says as 12 die at Riyadh airport

A strike at Riyadh's main airport killed 12 people and injured 309, Saudi authorities said, as President Donald Trump considered joining Saudi military action against the Houthis. ^{[1] [2]}

Some of the injured were in critical condition, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The attack on Saturday hit King Khalid International Airport. Le Monde reported that operations were suspended and damage assessments were continuing. ^{[1] [3]}

The Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen's Houthi movement and promised a response. Its spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, described the attack as a war crime, the coalition's characterisation rather than an independent legal finding. ^{[1] [3]}

Trump said the United States might join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. "We may. We're going to look at it," he said, adding that a decision would follow and that he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

US participation would widen the military response to a conflict that the UN's envoy to Yemen says has returned to full-scale war. Saudi Arabia leads the coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Houthis, who control territory in Yemen and have repeatedly attacked Saudi targets. ^[1]

Responsibility for this latest attack remains unverified. The Houthis had not immediately issued a statement about it, the reporting does not establish the weapon's origin or independently identify the attacker, and Trump had announced no decision to join the fighting. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

A strike at the domestic terminals

A regional official who was not authorised to speak publicly said a missile struck the airport complex housing domestic terminals 3 and 4, according to the Guardian. The account places the impact in the part of the airport serving flights within Saudi Arabia. ^[1]

A passenger who spoke to AFP said they were at gate 403 in the domestic terminal when they saw gate 401 hit. They described injured people and passengers running. ^{[1] [3]}

Saudi authorities identified four of the dead as Saudi citizens. The statement also named one citizen each of Bangladesh, Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. That nationality breakdown accounts for 11 of the 12 reported deaths. ^{[1] [3]}

The presence of a US citizen among the dead adds an American casualty to the attack that Trump is now weighing how to answer. The wider toll crosses several nationalities, at a civilian transport hub that had already come under attack earlier in the week, according to the Guardian. ^{[1] [3]}

The Guardian reported that two earlier attacks on King Khalid International Airport that week had killed four people. Saturday's reported death toll is three times that figure, while the number injured runs into the hundreds. ^[1]

The consequences extend beyond the airport. Saudi authorities said schools in Riyadh would switch to remote learning for a week after the attack, taking the disruption into the capital's classrooms as damage at the airport was assessed. ^{[1] [3]}

Washington weighs a military response

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the attacks "reprehensible" and said they "must stop now," according to the Guardian. Trump's remarks left military participation open while committing him to a conversation with Saudi Arabia's crown prince. ^{[1] [2]}

The coalition's response is also pending. Al-Maliki said it would act after the airport strike, tying its promised military answer to its accusation against the Houthis. ^{[1] [3]}

Earlier on Saturday, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sana'a International Airport in Yemen, according to the Guardian. Their accusation preceded the fatal attack in Riyadh. ^[1]

The Saudi-led coalition also said a projectile fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, another Saudi city. That account remains a coalition report, rather than an independently established incident. ^[1]

Yemen's renewed war reaches Saudi airports

The escalation follows the collapse in July of a truce in the war between the Houthis and Yemen's Riyadh-backed government. Since then, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, according to the Guardian. ^[1]

UN special envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that Yemen had returned to full-scale war. He warned that women and children would be among the first victims. The airport casualties now put civilian deaths and mass injuries in Saudi Arabia alongside that warning about Yemen. ^[1]

Fighting has also spread around Bab al-Mandab, the strategic shipping passage between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The warring sides gave competing accounts of whether Saudi-backed Yemeni forces had retaken the strait and nearby Perim Island. Those territorial claims remain disputed. ^{[1] [3]}