Houthi attacks on Saudi airports kill at least 20 in a week; Riyadh's main airport shut through at least Oct. 17

Saudi Arabia's main gateway to its capital is shut, and the kingdom is absorbing the heaviest sustained strikes on its territory in years.

An Anadolu tally based on official statements counts 10 attacks on five Saudi airports between Oct. 5 and Oct. 11. They killed 20 people and injured hundreds. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh took five of the hits, King Fahd International in Dammam two, and the airports at Abha, Jazan and Najran one each.

The deadliest day

The worst strike came Saturday, Oct. 10, at King Khalid. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) first reported 12 dead and 309 injured. The toll rose to 13 after the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said an Indian national hurt in the blast had died.

The dead include four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the Palestinian territories and Sudan, plus the Indian citizen. Some of the 309 wounded were in critical condition, GACA said. CNN described it as the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

The airport had already been hit earlier that week. Two assaults on Thursday, Oct. 8, killed three Saudi citizens, including a Saudia pilot, and damaged a Saudia aircraft. Flights had resumed before Saturday's strike forced another shutdown.

Sunday and Monday

On Sunday, Oct. 11, a projectile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid and started a fire, according to coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki. Air defenses destroyed a cruise missile near the airport. GACA said the attack killed a Pakistani resident and injured 11 people. Later that day, GACA confirmed an attack on the Dammam airport and gave no casualty figures.

On Monday, Oct. 12, the Saudi military said it intercepted three Houthi ballistic missiles. One was destroyed over Riyadh and two over Khamis Mushait in the southwest. The Houthi-controlled armed forces claimed those attacks, saying they targeted King Khalid and a military base.

GACA said King Khalid would stay closed to verify the safety and readiness of its facilities. Several hundred flights have been cancelled, and a notice to air missions lists the closure through at least Oct. 17. Riyadh schools moved to online learning, according to Anadolu.

The United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada have warned their citizens to avoid the airport.

What the Houthis say

The Houthis say the strikes answer an intensified Saudi air campaign in Yemen. On Monday the group claimed Saudi warplanes and missile units carried out 119 attacks in 24 hours that killed at least 14 civilians, including women and children.

The group has also told the AP that its operations against Saudi shipping are part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on the Houthis. It has told airlines, passengers and airport workers to avoid Saudi airports other than those in Mecca and Medina, and has threatened to keep hitting airports and other sites inside the kingdom.

The Saudi-led coalition and U.S. officials blame the Houthis for the Saturday strike. No group claimed that attack immediately.

Washington's next move

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Saturday's attack, confirmed an American was among the dead and called for an immediate end to the violence. Trump said he is evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes on the Houthis. "We may. We're going to look at it," he said. "We move very quickly." No decision has been announced.

The fighting is tied to a wider war with Iran. The AP describes it as a new front in the Iran war. The surge in attacks has come in the week since the Saudi-led coalition launched a major offensive against the Houthis, backing Yemeni government forces trying to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels a better view of shipping on a corridor that serves as a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, ties the focus on aviation to the closing of Iran's own aviation sector and U.S. sanctions on its airlines under the maximum pressure campaign. About three weeks before the strikes, a senior Iranian official had threatened to paralyze neighboring countries' airports if they helped U.S. efforts to restrict Iranian flights, Fox News Digital reported. That is Ben Taleblu's reading and a reported threat, not a finding that Tehran ordered the strikes.

The attacks have unsettled oil markets and the region. Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter. After the latest strike, the Saudi energy ministry was still promoting an international energy conference that had been scheduled to open in Riyadh on Sunday, Oct. 11.

The next fixed date is Oct. 17, when the airport closure notice lapses unless it is extended. Trump's decision on joining the Saudi campaign is still pending.