A fresh strike on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport has left at least 12 dead and hundreds injured.
Authorities have blamed Yemen’s Houthi militants for the attack, which came days after the group claimed to have carried out similar strikes on the transport hub.
It is the deadliest strike on a Gulf Arab nation since the onset of the war in Iran.
Operations at the airport have since been suspended, with dozens of ambulances reportedly having been rushed to the scene.
The strike is a further escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and could drag the US into fighting in Yemen, potentially dragging the region into a wider war.
Saudi-led coalition labels strike a ‘war crime’
In a statement released in the wake of the attack, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed 12 people had been killed, including four Saudi citizens.
Two Bangladeshi nationals, one American, an Egyptian, a Palestinian, a Syrian, a Jordanian, and a person from Sudan were also killed.
As many as 309 people were wounded and some remain in a critical condition, fuelling fears the death toll could still climb further.
Coalition forces, including those from Yemen’s internationally recognised government, led by Saudi Arabia quickly laid blame on the Houthis for carrying out the strike.
A spokesperson labelled the attack a “war crime” and vowed coalition forces would respond “firmly”.
An eyewitness told Agence France-Presse they had been inside the airport’s domestic terminal when the strike took place, adding they had seen gate 401 hit and “injured [people] in front of my eyes”.
“Everyone was running,” the eyewitness said.
Attack came after days of increasing hostilities
Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, including on civilian infrastructure.
Just one day prior to Saturday’s strike, three Saudis, including a pilot, were killed in two attacks on King Khalid International Airport, while a further three people were killed in attacks on different airports several days earlier.
Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, including on civilian infrastructure (Photo: Kadri Suat Celik/Anadolu via Getty Images)The surge in attacks has come as Saudi-led coalition forces make progress in a major offensive against the Houthis, who in July re-ignited hostilities by imposing a blockade on Saudi Arabian shipping.
Houthi forces then captured the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping route on the Red Sea, before Saudi airstrikes helped stall their progress.
In the weeks since, the Houthis have struck airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure as they seek to expand their control of southwestern Yemen.
Could the US become involved in the conflict?
Saudi Arabia has been calling on the United States for support in the conflict, but Donald Trump has so far refused to become involved despite Iran’s backing of the Houthis and the potential for the conflict to further destabilise oil markets.
Asked by reporters whether he would change course in light of the latest attack, Trump remained non-commital.
“We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he said.
The Houthis escalations have sparked fears of further disruptions to global shipping, with the Bab al-Mandab Strait having become increasingly important for traffic due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Some analysts have suggested Iran pushed the Houthis to act in order to increase pressure on Trump by raising shipping costs and the price of oil.
Trump, though, has said he views the conflict as separate from the Iran war and depleted stocks of US interceptor missiles have limited the ability of American forces to respond to new threats in the region.
The President is also contending with deep domestic disapproval over the Middle East conflict, which could limit his desire to commit more resources to the region ahead of crucial midterm elections on 3 November.
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