Saudi Arabia says Yemen's Houthi rebels killed 12 people and injured about 300 in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday. It was the deadliest strike inside the kingdom in more than a decade. Flights were suspended, and on Sunday a second strike hit the same airport. The Saudi-led coalition called the attack a 'full-fledged war crime' and vowed to respond.
π The Backstory
The Houthis are an Iran-backed group that took over Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has fought them since 2015 in Yemen's civil war. Fighting flared again after the Houthis seized territory along Yemen's Red Sea coast last month. The rebels then declared a 'maritime embargo' on Saudi Arabia and fired missiles and drones at its airports and oil sites.
π― Why It Matters
Attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities can push up global oil prices and draw the region closer to a wider war. Families feel the effects through higher fuel and travel costs.
Saudi Arabia says Yemen's Houthi rebels killed 12 people and injured about 300 in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday. It was the deadliest strike inside the kingdom in more than a decade. Flights were suspended, and on Sunday a second strike hit the same airport. The Saudi-led coalition called the attack a 'full-fledged war crime' and vowed to respond.
The Houthis are an Iran-backed group that took over Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has fought them since 2015 in Yemen's civil war. Fighting flared again after the Houthis seized territory along Yemen's Red Sea coast last month. The rebels then declared a 'maritime embargo' on Saudi Arabia and fired missiles and drones at its airports and oil sites.
Attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities can push up global oil prices and draw the region closer to a wider war. Families feel the effects through higher fuel and travel costs.