Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said an attack on Riyadh international airport, which killed 12 and left around 300 injured, ‘can’t possibly be justified in any circumstances’
At least 12 people were killed and over 300 injured in a strike on Saudi Arabia’s biggest airport(Image: AP)
The UK is not currently looking at launching military action after Iranian-backed rebels struck an airport in Saudi Arabia, Wes Streeting has said.
At least 12 people were killed and 300 more injured after Yemen-based Houthi militants launched an attack on Riyadh airport on Saturday. The Defence Secretary said the strike on a civilian target “can’t possibly be justified in any circumstances”.
But asked if Britain intends to get involved in offensive operations against the terror group, he said: “That’s not what we’re looking at at this stage, and we’ve always been clear that there isn’t a military solution to this conflict.
“We need to see a diplomatic solution, and Saudi needs to do that from a position of strength.”
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He told the BBC: “We’re already supporting Saudi Arabia . We’re supporting Saudi with air-to-air refuelling support that enables them to fly . Potentially, like I’ve spoken to my Saudi counterpart on a number of occasions in recent weeks to look at what more we can do to support Saudi Arabia .
“And I’m afraid last night explains precisely why we are providing that support. I mean, even in the context of Houthi attacks and an escalation, what we saw in terms of the attack on the airport in Riyadh was a shocking escalation. Hundreds of casualties, and an attack on a civilian target that can’t be possibly justified in any circumstances .”
Saudi Arabia’s main international airport has been closed since the attack, which is a major escalation of the war between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and the kingdom.
Saudi authorities said those killed in Saturday’s airport attack included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured were being treated at several hospitals.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged in a social media post that an American citizen had been killed in the attack. Donald Trump said he was weighing whether the United States would join Saudi strikes against the rebels. On Sunday the Houthi-run Health Ministry said 91 Yemenis were killed and 168 injured by the Saudi-led coalition in five weeks.
It claimed 60% of those killed were women and children.
Asked if the US would join Saudi forces moving against the Houthis, Trump said: “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
And pressed again on whether the US may get involved, he said: “We’ll find out.”
