- Saudi King Fahd Airport attacked; one killed, eight injured.
- Attack follows recent drone strikes on Saudi infrastructure.
- US ordered diplomats’ families to depart amid hostilities.
- Previous drone debris killed civilians at kingdom’s oil facilities.
One person was killed and eight others were injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, early Thursday, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said. The airport also sustained material damage in the late Wednesday incident.
The airport is located on the Persian Gulf coast, near Bahrain and Qatar. Global flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said on X that flights were being diverted away from the airport following the attack.
Saudi authorities have not identified those responsible or provided further details about the incident. The attack comes amid a series of strikes targeting Saudi Arabia, including attacks on airports and oil facilities, raising concerns about a further escalation in the region.
Saudi Arabia Reports Drone Interceptions In Eastern Region
Saudi Arabia’s coalition forces said they had intercepted four drone attacks in the kingdom’s eastern region. The Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen had not commented on the latest airport attack at the time of reporting.
King Fahd International Airport has previously been targeted amid a broader wave of Houthi missile and projectile attacks on major Saudi airports.
The latest incident adds to concerns over the security of critical infrastructure in the kingdom, particularly as attacks have also targeted oil facilities and shipping linked to Saudi Arabia.
US Orders Some Diplomats’ Families To Leave Saudi Arabia
Late Wednesday, the United States ordered some diplomats and the families of US government employees to leave Saudi Arabia following a series of deadly attacks attributed to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The move came amid growing concerns about a possible escalation in hostilities. The latest airport attack followed a separate incident in which debris from an intercepted drone killed two people and injured two others at an oil field operated by Saudi Aramco in the country’s southeast.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said the two people killed in that incident were Nepali and Filipino nationals. The injured were Pakistani and Indian nationals.
Previous Attacks Target Saudi Oil Facilities
The latest casualties follow an attack last month in which debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia. It was the first civilian death reported since the Houthis stepped up their attacks against the kingdom, targeting Saudi shipping and oil facilities.
Earlier this month, a limited fire broke out in an administrative building at Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil companies, following an attack in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the Energy Ministry said at the time.
The successive incidents have placed Saudi Arabia’s airports and energy infrastructure under renewed scrutiny as authorities respond to attacks and attempt to prevent further casualties.
