Attack on Riyadh airport kills 12, wounds more than 300

Some of the injured were in a critical condition, it added.

Airport operations were suspended while authorities evaluated the damage and conducted safety inspections.

This was latest in a string of attacks targeting the oil-rich kingdom's aviation facilities as it faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front in the Iran war.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia has stepped up missile and drone attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia the past several weeks and has previously claimed responsibility for hits on Riyadh airport and other facilities in the kingdom.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack.

The international airport in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh has been attacked again as the kingdom faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front in the Iran war. 

US President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.

The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. 

On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights and many people were wounded, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak to the media.

"We may. We're going to look at it," Trump said of intervening. 

"We just found out about the recent attack. So we'll make a decision. We move very quickly."

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 on Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.

The airport in Ryiadh has a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed.

Flights diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport.

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 a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it solidarity with Palestinians. A US bombing campaign sharply limited that.

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defence support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one noting that the US has seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.

Officials have said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive against the Houthis.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said its foreign minister and Omani counterpart spoke by phone about the importance of "supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions" in the region. 

Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi authorities warned the public this week that "filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability".

The Houthis this week warned global airlines "for the last time" about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theatre for their military operations.

At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been cancelled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. 

with dpa