Missile strikes a passenger terminal at Riyadh airport and many are wounded, official says

CAIRO (AP) — The airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was attacked again Saturday and evacuated, two regional officials said, just days after three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, were killed as the kingdom faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front in the Iran war.

President Donald Trump told reporters he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen who have claimed this week’s attacks on King Khalid International Airport as well as other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

In the latest attack, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights at the Riyadh airport and many people were wounded, one of the regional officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media. Several ambulances were seen rushing there.

The surge in attacks has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the Houthis, who earlier Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the rebel-held Yemeni capital.

Riyadh airport operations have been suspended

Saudi civil aviation authorities said operations at the airport had been suspended and the number of wounded and damage were being assessed. An official notice to aviators said the suspension was through midnight. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed.

Flights diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport.

The attacks on airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has rattled markets and the region. And yet the Saudi energy ministry hours after the latest attack was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.

Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces in an attempt to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

Though the Houthis have told the AP and others they are only targeting Saudi shipping as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider attacks persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it solidarity with Palestinians. A U.S. bombing campaign sharply limited that.

Saudi Arabia has run low on interceptors, officials say

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defense support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one noting that the U.S. has seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.

Officials have said U.S. assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive against the Houthis.

The Saudi and Omani foreign ministers spoke by phone about the importance of “supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions” in the region, the kingdom said Saturday. Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi authorities warned the public this week that “filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability.”

Flight disruptions are growing

The Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theater for their military operations.

At least 225 flights at the Riyadh airport had been canceled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines have been among airlines suspending flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis’ ability to strike targets deeper inside the kingdom, including Riyadh, and a “greater focus on aviation infrastructure.”

The missile and drone attacks and interception efforts “create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft,” it said.

Two regional officials said Houthi attacks on the Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media. The Saudi national carrier said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.

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Anna reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Victoria Eastwood in Cairo, Collin Binkley in Washington and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.