1 killed, 8 wounded in Saudi Arabia airport attack

An attack on an airport in Saudi Arabia by the Iranian-backed Houthis killed one person and injured eight others, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement that the rebel group targeted the King Fahd International Airport in the eastern city of Dammam on Wednesday evening.

Eight people were hospitalized, sustaining injuries which ranged from “mild to critical.” Authorities are still determining the extent of the damage.

The strike is the latest in a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other infrastructure amid renewed fighting between the rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Earlier Wednesday, Saudi officials said the country’s air defenses shot down a drone targeting Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield. Debris from the interception killed two people and injured two others.

The Houthis have also repeatedly struck other airports in the region, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh where an Oct. 12 attack left 12 people dead and hundreds injured. Abha International Airport and several Saudi Aramco facilities were also targeted.

The escalating attacks have prompted the U.S. to take additional security precautions in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department on Wednesday ordered nonessential U.S. government personnel and their families to leave the country, citing risk of further violence.

“As the Department has repeatedly emphasized, the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly, including beyond that immediate area,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hill.

“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them as they return to the U.S.”

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia also issued a security alert advising Americans to follow local emergency warnings. U.S. government employees must now receive special permission before traveling through Saudi airports in light of the recent missile and drone attacks.