Major attack on Saudi airport kills 12 and leads Trump to weigh joining fight

The deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab state since the start of the Iran war raised new questions Sunday about whether the United States might be about to join another conflict in the region. The missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s main international airport drew widespread condemnation and intensified pressure on the kingdom and its allies to respond to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The attack was the deadliest to hit the kingdom in a decade and marked a sharp escalation in the Yemen-based Houthis’ campaign against the leading oil exporter, which has already rattled the global economy. President Donald Trump indicated it could now prompt America to join the fight, weeks after the conflict between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition reignited alongside the unresolved clash between Washington and Tehran.

At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured when the missile hit King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh on Saturday, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The victims included one American as well as four citizens of Saudi Arabia, two Bangladeshi nationals, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Palestinian, a Syrian and one Sudanese. Some of the wounded were in critical condition, authorities said, while airport operations remained suspended Sunday. Saudi Arabia’s government and its allies blamed the Houthis for Saturday’s strike. The group did not immediately claim responsibility