Riyadh airport strike kills 12, wounds 309

A strike at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and wounded 309, Saudi authorities said, as the Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen's Houthis and vowed a decisive response.

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said four Saudi citizens were among those killed, along with two Bangladeshis, one US citizen, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese. It said some of the wounded were in serious condition.

The coalition described the attack as a “full-fledged war crime”. A diplomatic source attributed the strike to a missile. The Houthis did not immediately take responsibility for Saturday's strike, though they had claimed attacks targeting the airport on Thursday that killed three people and damaged a plane.

Airport operations were suspended after the attack, and authorities said damage assessments were continuing. Health officials activated a mass call-up of doctors, and two doctors said several pilgrims heading to Mecca were among the wounded.

Schools in Riyadh switched to remote learning for the week. The US, Canadian, German and Spanish embassies warned citizens to avoid the airport, and a senior Western diplomat said several embassies were barring staff from using it over the next week.

US President Donald Trump said “We may” when asked whether Washington could join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, and said he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The attack came amid a renewed escalation in Yemen's war after a UN-brokered truce collapsed in July. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen's internationally backed government since 2015.