President Donald Trump said the United States might join Saudi strikes against the Houthis after a new attack at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed at least 12 people and injured 309 on Saturday, Oct. 10. He described U.S. participation as a possibility under consideration, not a decision.
The new toll is a sharp increase from the three Saudi citizens killed in attacks at the airport two days earlier. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those earlier attacks, as The Wells Post reported.
What happened at Riyadh airport?
Saudi civil aviation authorities reported at least 12 deaths and 309 injuries in Saturday’s strike, with several injured people in critical condition, CBS News reported. The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and people from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
A regional official told CBS that a missile hit the complex housing domestic terminals 3 and 4. Saudi authorities suspended airport operations after the attack, disrupting travel through Riyadh’s main airport.
The Houthis had not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike. Their claim over the earlier airport attacks is separate from the new strike.
What has Trump said about U.S. strikes?
Asked about possible U.S. participation in Saudi military action, Trump said, as CBS News reported: “We may. We're gonna look at it.” He has not announced that the United States will join the strikes.
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The remark came as Saudi Arabia backs Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, warned on Friday, before the airport strike, that attacks “will not go unpunished,” TIME reported.
A State Department spokesperson condemned “Houthi terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure and airports” and said the department was in close contact with Saudi partners, CBS reported. The Houthis had not claimed Saturday’s attack, while the administration’s statement addressed Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure and airports.
The question of U.S. involvement matters beyond the relationship between Washington and Riyadh: the airport strike killed people from several countries and injured 309, while a wider military campaign would involve decisions about targets and risks to people in Yemen.
How are civilians in Yemen affected?
The latest airport attack adds to a conflict that is already driving displacement and hardship in Yemen. Euronews, citing U.N. data, reported that more than 200,000 people had been displaced since July; a Taiz resident also described shortages of essential goods.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces announced an intensified campaign against the Houthis on Oct. 4, TIME reported. The Saudi-led coalition is providing air support to those forces. The airport attack and the warning issued by the coalition’s spokesperson come against that backdrop of renewed fighting.
For people traveling through Riyadh, the suspension of airport operations has brought immediate disruption. For civilians in Yemen, displacement and shortages are among the reported costs of the renewed conflict. Trump has left open the possibility of U.S. participation in Saudi strikes, but has not announced a decision.
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