World condemns deadly Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh airport

Riyadh airport attack was expected as the Houthis’ way to retaliate: Analysis

Saudi Arabia has accused Yemen’s Houthis of killing at least 12 people and wounding 300 others in a third attack on the Riyadh international airport this week.

The victims on Saturday included four Saudis, two people from ⁠Bangladesh and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.

The attack was the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

It came as the war in Yemen intensifies, with the Houthis battling forces aligned with the internationally recognised government for control of the country. Saudi Arabia is waging an air campaign against the Houthis to support the ground war by the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed group.

US President Donald Trump described the attack as “terrible” and said he “will be speaking” with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, soon. He also said he was evaluating whether the US should join the war against the Houthis.

“We may. We’re gonna look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We’ll move very quickly,” he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said the Houthi attack killed an American and called for an end to “these reprehensible attacks”.