Second Strike on Riyadh Airport Kills Pakistani Resident, Dammam Airport Also Attacked

Since the Houthis began hitting King Khalid International Airport earlier this week, the Riyadh hub has been struck four times in five days, and it has been closed since Saturday's deadly missile attack. The latest hit came Sunday, Oct. 11.

A projectile struck Passenger Hall No. 4, starting a fire, Saudi coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said. He described it as an "unknown projectile" and said air defenses intercepted a missile near the airport. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said one person, a Pakistani resident, was killed and 11 were injured. The complex's terminals 3 and 4 serve domestic flights.

Dammam airport and oil sites

Later Sunday, the civil aviation authority confirmed that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the oil-rich Eastern Province, had also been attacked. It said damage assessment and safety checks were under way. It gave no casualty figures.

The Houthis claimed a wider campaign. Their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said the group used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones over 24 hours. He listed Aramco's Shugadam gas facility and the Tanajib oil refinery among the targets. Saudi authorities have confirmed the Dammam strike. The Houthi claims about the energy sites have not been confirmed.

Saree vowed "escalating operations deep inside Saudi Arabia" and warned airlines and passengers to stay away. He said every Saudi airport is a potential target except those in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The toll

Saturday's strike was the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the Iran war began. Saudi authorities put the death toll at 13 and the injured at more than 300, some critically. Early reports said 12 dead. The 13th death was an Indian man who died of his injuries Sunday, according to India's embassy in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi civil aviation authority said the dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the American's death and condemned the strike. Sunday's attack added one more death, the Pakistani resident.

Earlier in the week, Houthi attacks on King Khalid International killed three Saudis, including a pilot, according to CBS News.

The Houthi position

The Houthis say they are acting in response to what Saree called "brutal Saudi aggression against our country and our people." The group has cited Saudi backing for government forces in Yemen's civil war, as well as a Saudi air strike on the airport in Sanaa. On Sunday it said Sanaa's airport was hit again, and that a Saudi strike on a home in the capital killed a child and injured six. It offered no evidence for either claim. Saree claimed Saudi Arabia launched more than 120 airstrikes in Houthi-held territory in 24 hours.

The Saudi-led coalition called Saturday's attack a "war crime" and said it would "respond firmly." It has not said what that response will be.

Washington's decision

President Trump said Saturday the United States would "make a decision" and "move very quickly" on whether to strike the Houthis. He said he planned to speak with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been seeking assistance. The White House made no immediate comment Sunday.

The stakes go beyond Riyadh. The Houthis seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last month, and the Saudi-led coalition has been trying to retake them. An American move could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through the strait, which serves as an alternative route to the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz. That would squeeze oil flows out of the Persian Gulf further.

The defense math is also tight. Regional officials told the Associated Press last month that Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt for air defense help. One official noted that the U.S. has watched its own stockpile dwindle during the war with Iran.

Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, wrote that repeated Saudi airstrikes have not eliminated the Houthis' ability to fire missiles and one-way attack drones at the kingdom.

Travel and daily life

Saudi authorities extended the airport closure and moved Riyadh schools online until Thursday. Flights have been diverted, according to Flightradar24. The U.S., Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada have warned citizens to avoid the airport. The British embassy advised against all but essential travel to Jeddah and Dammam.

Sunday's strike came while Riyadh was hosting a major international energy conference, with an investment gathering still ahead.

Trump's decision on joining the Saudi campaign, and whether the Houthis follow through on threats against other airports, will determine whether this stays a Saudi-Houthi fight or becomes a wider American one.