Morning Edition · Mon 12 Oct 2026
Strike on Riyadh Airport Kills 12 as Trump Weighs Joining Saudi Fight Against Houthis
A missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309, Saudi aviation officials said, and President Trump said the US “may” join Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Houthis.
Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
The deadliest strike on the Saudi capital
Saturday’s attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 others, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said, according to CNBC. CBS News reported that an American was among the dead, along with four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
On Sunday another projectile struck a passenger terminal at the same airport, affecting terminals 3 and 4, the Associated Press reported, according to CNBC and CBS News. CBS News said flights were cancelled, and that Saudi authorities also confirmed an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
Trump: “We may”
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday when asked whether the US would back Saudi strikes, CNBC reported. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he called “the terrorist Houthis” for the strike, CBS News reported.
The Houthis warned against using Saudi airports, except those serving Mecca and Medina, CNBC reported. Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, called the strike a “war crime” and said the coalition would “respond decisively to this terrorist attack,” CNBC reported. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey issued a joint statement condemning the attacks, CBS News reported.
A second front and its costs
CNBC recalled that the US previously struck the Houthis in Operation Rough Rider in May 2025, citing Critical Threats, and noted that a $24.3 billion F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia is under review. The war with Iran began on February 28, CNBC said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy cautioned against widening US involvement, CBS News reported. Separately, CBS News reported that Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, called the latest US response in stalled talks “insufficient.”