At least 12 people killed, more than 300 injured in strike on Riyadh airport, Saudi officials say

At least 12 people, including one American, were killed and 309 others injured in a strike Saturday on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, according to Saudi officials.

The Saudi kingdom has faced an extraordinary series of assaults on the new front in the Iran war. President Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

"We may. We're gonna look at it," Mr. Trump said earlier Saturday when asked about the possibility. "We just found out about the recent attack [on the airport]. So we'll make a decision — we move very quickly."

The spokesperson told CBS News the State Department is in close contact with its "Saudi partners."

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 said airport operations were suspended. 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.

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.

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 attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been canceled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Before the latest attack, Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines were among airlines suspending flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.

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

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