Riyadh airport struck again a day after deadly Houthi missile attack

A projectile slammed into a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, one day after a missile strike on the same building left at least 13 people dead. Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, claimed both attacks.

One person, a Pakistani resident, died in Sunday's strike and 11 others were hurt, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said, according to BBC News. The Associated Press, in a report published by PBS NewsHour, said Saudi officials reported injuries at the complex that houses domestic terminals 3 and 4. The AP said the airport was still shut on Sunday.

Figures for Saturday's attack vary somewhat between the outlets. The AP first put the death toll at 12, with roughly 300 wounded, then noted that India's embassy reported an Indian national had died of his wounds, raising the count to 13. The BBC gave totals of 13 killed and 308 injured. According to both outlets, Saudi officials said the victims included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Sudan and the Palestinian territories. Both called it the most lethal single strike on a Gulf Arab state since the Iran war started.

Saudi officials said the airport in Dammam was also hit. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said fighters had additionally attacked oil sites in the kingdom's east, and he cautioned that every Saudi airport outside Mecca and Medina could be targeted, the BBC reported. Per the AP, the rebels have struck the Riyadh airport daily since Wednesday, even though the facility hosts no military operations.

The Houthis cite Saudi backing for Yemen's government side in the civil war, along with a strike on Sanaa's airport, as reasons for the campaign. Houthi health officials said a child died and six people were injured when a home in Sanaa was hit in what they suspect was a Saudi raid. Neither outlet reported any Saudi confirmation of those claims.

President Donald Trump has said he is considering military action against the Houthis, both outlets reported. The BBC said Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the strikes and verified that an American was among those killed.

The attack coincided with an international energy conference in the Saudi capital. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the gathering, "There is no way that somebody will break our back," the AP reported.

Ahmed Nagi, who analyzes Yemen for the International Crisis Group, told the AP the strikes "could make the Saudis more determined to continue the campaign."

A truce reached in 2022 between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition broke down in July. Combat has since grown near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important shipping lane, following Houthi gains along the coast. On Sunday, Iran's foreign minister offered to help broker talks, according to the BBC.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/53