Saudi Arabia says Dammam and Riyadh airports attacked as Houthi strikes escalate Saudi authorities reported attacks on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and new strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, where a missile killed 12 people a day earlier. The Houthis claimed responsibility as the death toll rose to 13 with an Indian citizen's death. Saudi authorities said King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was attacked on Sunday, marking a new front in a sharp escalation of Houthi strikes on the kingdom. Saudi Airports Hit in Houthi StrikesThe city lies on the Persian Gulf near Bahrain and Qatar. The announcement came hours after authorities said Riyadh's international airport had been attacked once again. The Flightradar24 monitor noted at least one flight diverting from the Dammam airport. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have claimed a series of attacks over the past week on Saudi airports and military and oil facilities.A projectile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, a day after a missile hit the same terminal and killed 12 people, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those attacks and others. Saudi authorities reported injuries in the latest strike, which hit terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights.Saturday's missile attack was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began, with another 300 people wounded, some critically. The airport remained closed Sunday. India's embassy in Saudi Arabia said one of its citizens died Sunday of injuries from Saturday's attack, bringing the toll to 13. The dead in the airport attack included several nationalities, according to Saudi authorities.They included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. The Egyptian woman was a flight attendant identified as Azza Ramzy, who worked for Saudi airline Flynas, according to Egyptian state-run TV. The Syrian woman was a widowed mother of four who had lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, a relative told The Associated Press. The Syrian Embassy identified her as Buthaina Ahmad Oweida.Airport Attack Kills Thirteen PeopleHer niece, Nisreen Oweida, said she had left during Syria's civil war. She was living in Mecca and had been returning from a visit to her sister in Riyadh when she was killed. The latest strike in Riyadh came shortly after the Houthis said the airport in the rebel-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa had been struck again, and blamed the Saudis.Earlier Sunday, the Houthi-run health ministry said a child was killed and six people wounded in a suspected Saudi airstrike on a house in Sanaa. The ministry also said 91 Yemenis have been killed by the Saudi-led coalition in five weeks, 60 percent of them women and children. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the claims.On Sunday, the Houthis also claimed attacks on King Fahd Airport in Dammam, as well as oil and gas facilities in the kingdom's east. They have targeted the Riyadh airport, which has no military facilities, every day since Wednesday. The rebels again warned all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace, saying they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theater of operations for their forces.Several international airlines have suspended flights for varying periods. The sharp escalation threatens to draw in greater U.S. military involvement, as U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is weighing joining the fight against the Houthis. There was no immediate White House comment Sunday. Trump also said he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been seeking assistance.Escalation Threatens Global Oil SuppliesAt stake in this escalation are global supplies and prices of oil as well as commercial shipping through a crucial alternative waterway to the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz, along with civilians and aviation throughout the region. A U.S. intervention could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea off Yemen and further restrict the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.The rebels seized key areas along the strait last month and the Saudi-led coalition has been trying to seize them back. Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defense support to the region, regional officials told The Associated Press last month, with one noting that the U.S. has seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.Sunday's attack occurred as the Saudis hosted a major international energy conference in Riyadh, with other high-profile events including an investment gathering on the horizon. Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to open more to the world as a business and tourism destination, but the Houthi attacks threaten those efforts. There is no way that somebody will break our back.Energy Minister Denies Saudi BreakbackWe are like a phoenix, we come out of the ashes all the time, the Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, told the conference. He added that the kingdom is also working on pipelines in addition to the East-West one that was attacked and closed for days last month, with no details. Until recently, the Houthis had been largely on the sidelines of the Iran war.Now, the rebels are helping Iran to pressure a key U.S. ally. The Saudis and the Houthis began fighting in 2015, when the kingdom entered Yemen's civil war on behalf of the internationally recognized government. Relative calm after a 2022 ceasefire ended in July when the Houthis resumed attacks, saying the Saudis fired on the Sanaa airport as a plane from Iran was trying to land. The attack revived anger over the Saudi-led blockade that has largely isolated Houthi-run areas.The rebels say they have now imposed a blockade on Saudi Arabia.