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At least 12 people were killed and over 300 injured in another attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels at an international airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. As the Houthi rebels launch a series of concentrated attacks targeting the Saudi mainland, the United States is considering a military response.

Reporter Kim Min-pyo reports.

Reporter

The terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, was engulfed in dust, and ceiling materials fell down.

Saudi authorities announced that at least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in an attack by the Houthi rebels, a pro-Iranian group in Yemen.

This is the third time King Khalid Airport has been attacked since the Houthis declared a large-scale offensive targeting Saudi airports and other targets on the 5th. It represents the highest number of casualties among the bombings suffered by neighboring Gulf states since the Iran war in February.

Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended airport operations, and flights to and from Riyadh have been canceled one after another. A Houthi rebel official stated that this attack was retaliation for Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on civilian facilities in Yemen.

As Saudi Arabia's air defenses were breached one after another, U.S. President Trump hinted at the possibility of military intervention.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: (Have you decided whether to join Saudi Arabia's retaliatory airstrikes?) We might join. We will review it. (When will you decide?) I just heard the news about this attack. I will make a decision soon. We move very quickly.]

Until now, the United States has only provided indirect support, such as sending military and intelligence experts to Saudi Arabia to select airstrike targets.

Armed clashes on the Yemeni front intensified after the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government forces launched "Operation Yemen Dawn" on the 4th (local time) to retake Yemeni territory controlled by the Houthis. The Saudi coalition and others have launched an operation to retake key strongholds in the Bab el-Mandes Strait region. In response, the Houthis are engaging Yemeni government forces on the ground while simultaneously concentrating strikes on key facilities with ballistic missiles and other weapons, targeting the Saudi mainland which provides air support for the Yemeni military.

(Video Editing: Jo Mu-hwan)

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