Saudi airport attack kills 12, injures over 300; Trump weighs military intervention

An ambulance is parked outside King Khalid International Airport after several people were wounded in an attack on the airport that forced a suspension of operations, according to Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 10, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from social media video. | Photo Credit: SOCIAL MEDIA

The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, with some in critical condition.

The attack was the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, whose fronts have expanded to include the recent surge in fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi-backed government forces there.

The statement, which did not assign blame for the attack, said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured were being treated at several hospitals.

The attack — the latest of several in the past week on King Khalid International Airport — is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military support for the kingdom.

Shortly after the attack on Saturday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis.

The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.

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

The surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, 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 rebels, who earlier Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.

Saudi civil aviation authorities earlier said airport operations were suspended and the extent of injuries and damage was 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 Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet the Saudi energy ministry hours after the latest one was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.