Key takeaways:
- A Sunday strike on Riyadh’s airport killed one Pakistani resident and injured 11 people, Saudi authorities said.
- A Saturday strike killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300; Al Jazeera reported that one of the injured died Sunday.
- U.S. Central Command said its forces disabled a commercial vessel attempting to breach the naval blockade near Iran.
The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia urged Americans on Monday to use “extreme caution” at the country’s major airports after repeated strikes on Riyadh’s international airport killed passengers and injured hundreds. President Donald Trump said he was considering whether U.S. forces would join Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Iran-backed Houthis.
A projectile struck the domestic terminal complex at King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, killing a Pakistani resident and injuring 11 people, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said. The attack came a day after a missile hit the same airport, killing 12 people and wounding more than 300, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Al Jazeera reported that India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia said one of its citizens died Sunday from injuries sustained in Saturday’s strike, bringing that attack’s death toll to 13. CBS News reported that an American citizen was among those killed in Saturday’s attack. The Riyadh airport has been struck four times in five days and has been closed since Saturday.
“The U.S. Mission is aware of additional attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and targeted attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on October 11,” the embassy said. “Please take extreme caution when using all major airports in Saudi Arabia.”
The Houthis claimed responsibility for earlier strikes on the Riyadh airport. Al Jazeera reported that the group had not claimed Sunday’s attack. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said it was assessing damage and inspecting the airport for safety after the latest strike.
Asked Saturday whether the United States might join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, Trump said: “We may. We’re gonna look at it.” He said his administration had just learned of the airport attack and would make a decision quickly. Asked whether the strike could change his previously announced decision to hold off on potential strikes on Iran until after the midterm elections, he said, “Well, we’re gonna take a look.”
The fighting is also affecting shipping near Iran. U.S. Central Command said a U.S. fighter jet fired a precision munition Saturday at a Panama-flagged commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman, disabling its propulsion without harming the crew. The military said the vessel, the Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, had recently left an Iranian port and had repeatedly ignored warnings while attempting to breach a U.S. naval blockade.
Since that blockade began July 14, U.S. forces have disabled four commercial vessels and turned around 135 ships, Central Command said. It also said U.S. forces had destroyed 10 tankers believed to be part of a fleet carrying sanctioned Iranian oil and petroleum products.
Al Jazeera reported that the airport attacks have heightened concern over commercial shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait off Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition is fighting to retake areas along the waterway that the Houthis seized last month, the outlet reported.
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