Saudi airport passenger terminal is struck again, a day after 12 were killed

CAIRO (AP) — A projectile struck a rider terminal astatine the planetary airdrome successful Riyadh connected Sunday, a time aft a rocket deed the aforesaid terminal and killed 12 people, the Saudi-led conjugation warring Iran-backed Houthi rebels successful Yemen said. The Houthis claimed work for those attacks and others.

Saudi authorities said determination were injuries successful the latest onslaught connected the King Khalid International Airport analyzable for terminals 3 and 4, serving home flights. The airdrome — struck 4 times successful the past 5 days — has been closed since Saturday’s rocket attack, which was the deadliest successful a Gulf Arab federation since the Iran warfare began. Over 300 different radical were wounded, immoderate critically.

The crisp escalation successful the war's caller beforehand threatens to gully successful greater U.S. subject involvement. President Donald Trump has said helium is weighing joining the combat against the Houthis. There was nary White House remark Sunday.

India’s embassy successful Saudi Arabia said 1 of its citizens died Sunday of injuries sustained successful Saturday’s attack, which would bring the toll to 13. Saudi authorities aboriginal said King Fahd International Airport successful Dammam besides was attacked, with fewer details. The metropolis is connected the Persian Gulf adjacent Bahrain and Qatar.

The latest onslaught successful Riyadh came soon aft the Houthis said the airdrome successful the rebel-held Yemeni superior of Sanaa had been struck again, and blamed the Saudis.

At stake, again, successful this escalation are planetary supplies and prices of lipid arsenic good arsenic commercialized shipping done a important alternate waterway to the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz — on with civilians and aviation passim the region.

Trump said helium planned to talk to Saudi crown prince

There was nary motion Sunday that Trump had followed up connected plans to talk with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been seeking assistance against the war-hardened rebel radical that is presently Iran's astir dynamic proxy.

A U.S. involution could punctual the Houthis to halt shipping done the Bab el-Mandeb Strait astatine the confederate extremity of the Red Sea disconnected Yemen, further restricting the travel of lipid retired of the Persian Gulf. The rebels seized cardinal areas on the strait past month. The Saudi-led coalition, backing forces with Yemen's internationally recognized government, has been trying to prehend them back.

The rebels' strikes against Saudi airports, lipid infrastructure and subject facilities item a problem. The kingdom is moving debased connected rocket interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy aerial defence enactment to the region, determination officials told The Associated Press past month, with 1 noting that the U.S. has seen its ain banal dwindle during the Iran war.

Some airlines person suspended flights serving Saudi airports, and immoderate embassies person cautioned citizens astir the risks of utilizing them, aft aggregate Houthi warnings astir the rebels' usage of Saudi airspace.

Sunday’s onslaught occurred arsenic the Saudis hosted a large planetary vigor league successful Riyadh, with different high-profile events including an concern gathering connected the horizon. Saudi Arabia nether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to unfastened much to the satellite arsenic a concern and tourism destination, but the Houthi attacks endanger those efforts.

“There is nary mode that idiosyncratic volition interruption our back. We are similar a phoenix, we travel retired of the ashes each the time,” the Saudi vigor minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, told the conference.

He added that the kingdom is besides moving connected pipelines successful summation to the East-West 1 that was attacked and closed for days past month, with nary details.

The toll rises connected some sides

Earlier connected Sunday, the Houthi-run wellness ministry said a kid was killed and six radical wounded successful a suspected Saudi airstrike connected a location successful Sanaa. The ministry besides said 91 Yemenis person been killed by the Saudi-led conjugation successful 5 weeks, 60% of them women and children.

There was nary contiguous remark from Saudi authorities connected the claims, arsenic warring successful Yemen surges aft a large subject violative was launched against the Houthis a week ago.

Inside Saudi Arabia, identities emerged for immoderate of those killed successful Saturday's onslaught successful Riyadh, including an Egyptian formation attendant and a Syrian widow surviving successful the kingdom.

The U.S. national has not been publically identified.

An adept says the Houthis' tactics could backfire

The Houthis until precocious had been mostly connected the Iran war’s sidelines. They person developed their subject capabilities successful caller years to go 1 of Tehran’s astir almighty allies. Now they're pressuring its determination rival and a cardinal U.S. ally.

Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia and Iran said their overseas ministers had spoken by phone. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said helium warned against insisting connected a subject attack and ignoring a governmental solution, and said Tehran was acceptable to assistance commencement a dialog betwixt the Saudis and the Houthis.

The Saudis and Houthis began warring successful 2015, erstwhile the kingdom entered Yemen’s civilian warfare connected behalf of the government. Relative calm aft a 2022 ceasefire ended successful July erstwhile the Houthis resumed attacks, saying the Saudis fired connected the Sanaa airdrome arsenic a level from Iran was trying to land.

The onslaught revived choler implicit the Saudi-led blockade that has mostly isolated Houthi-run areas. The rebels declared a blockade connected Saudi Arabia.

Now the Saudi-led conjugation is providing aerial enactment for Yemeni authorities forces attempting to reverse Houthi territorial gains.

But the rebels' unit tactics could backfire, said Ahmed Nagi, the International Crisis Group’s elder expert for Yemen: “Rather than pushing Riyadh to measurement back, attacks connected captious Saudi infrastructure could marque the Saudis much determined to proceed the campaign.”

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A erstwhile mentation of this study has been corrected to amusement that the Egyptian killed was a woman, not a man.

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Frankel and Anna reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Victoria Eastwood successful Cairo, Collin Binkley successful Washington, Sally Abou AlJoud successful Beirut and Omar Albam successful Maarat al-Numan, Syria, contributed to this report.