One Killed, Eight Injured in Attack on King Fahd Airport in Dammam

An attack has taken place at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, a city in eastern Saudi Arabia. One person was killed in the attack. Eight others were injured. The country's civil aviation authority, GACA, provided this information.

In a statement on Wednesday (21 October), GACA said the injuries of all those hurt in the attack were of varying degrees, from minor to serious. They were quickly taken to various local hospitals and are receiving necessary treatment.

Earlier on the same day, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said the country's air defence forces had intercepted a drone targeting a facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field. However, two people were killed in that incident.

Attacks took place on the same day at two installations, an airport and an oil field. With one person killed in the airport attack and two killed in the Shaybah oil field incident, at least three deaths from attacks in Saudi Arabia were reported on the day.

Amid the intensifying conflict between Yemen's Houthi forces and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government, attacks targeting various Saudi ports and oil installations have recently increased. The King Fahd airport incident is being seen as the latest in that series.

Earlier, on 11 October, a missile attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed one person and injured 11. That the capital's main airport has also been targeted is already on record.

Just a day before that, on 10 October, the country's civil aviation authority reported that a separate attack at the same airport killed 12 people and injured more than three hundred. The picture of Saudi airports coming under repeated attack throughout October is thus becoming clear.

Meanwhile, in the face of these ongoing Houthi attacks, the US State Department has ordered diplomats working at the US mission in Saudi Arabia and their family members to leave the country immediately.

In addition, plans are under way to evacuate family members from several other US missions in the region, US officials have said. The decision itself underscores the gravity of the situation.

Considering the situation, and fearing that the Houthis could carry out even larger attacks in Saudi Arabia, the US Embassy in Riyadh issued an emergency security alert on Wednesday.

The eight people injured at King Fahd airport remain under treatment at local hospitals. After the series of attacks on airports and energy installations, all eyes are now on where Saudi Arabia's security situation goes from here.