Deadly Saudi airport strikes mark major Mideast escalation

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Fears of intensifying conflict were growing in Saudi Arabia on Monday after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched multiple strikes on Riyadh’s airport over the weekend, killing 13 people and wounding hundreds.“What is clear is we remain on a strong escalation ladder,” said Adam Baron, a fellow at New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, who follows Yemen and the wider Gulf region.More than 300 people were injured when the kingdom’s main international airport was attacked Saturday, marking a major escalation in the Houthi rebel group’s campaign against the world’s leading oil exporter and key U.S.

ally in the region.Among the victims were one American, as well as four citizens of Saudi Arabia, two Bangladeshi nationals, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Palestinian, a Syrian and one Sudanese national.

The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia later said on Sunday that an Indian national injured in Saturday’s attack had died.Video capturing the Saturday attack showed a packed airport before the flash of an explosion sends people running for safety as debris falls on them.The airport remained shut Monday.

CCTV footage of the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday.Al ArabiyaThe impact of the attacks were felt at the WPC Energy Congress in the capital Monday, with several top energy executives dropping off the event’s schedule.The chief executives of Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron and BP had all been expected at the event, which started Sunday, but were no longer on the agenda that conference organizers released early Monday, Reuters reported.

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