Arab News | Trump ‘looking at’ airstrikes against Houthis after Riyadh airport attacks

LONDON: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States may decide “very quickly” to join airstrikes on the Houthi militia in Yemen after a fourth attack against Riyadh airport in a week.

“We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack (on the Saudi airport), so we’ll make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We move very quickly.”

Four people have been killed and dozens injured in strikes against King Khalid International Airport since Wednesday by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said it was still determining how many people had been injured in Saturday’s attack that forced the airport to suspend operations.

The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said on Friday that it had launched “large-scale operations” against the Houthis in Yemen, destroying more than 130 targets.

The coalition has recently ramped up air strikes against Houthi targets as forces loyal to Yemen’s international government push offensives against the militia.

The Yemeni forces are attempting to dislodge the Houthis from territory near the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait, which they seized last month.

Their position near the waterway threatens a key international shipping route, where the group has previously attacked commercial vessels.

The US military carried out eight weeks of heavy air and naval strikes against the Houthis last year after the group had attacked dozens of ships in the Red Sea.

It was the first major military operation of Trump’s second term and targeted radar systems, and ballistic and drone launch sites.