The United States (US) has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks across the kingdom intensify, killing three people and disrupting travel.
Saudi authorities reported that debris from a drone intercepted during an attempted attack on an oil field killed two people. Separately, a strike at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight others, with injuries ranging from minor to serious, officials said.
A US State Department spokesperson confirmed the departure order, citing the growing threat posed by the Iran-backed Houthis and their attacks on civilian infrastructure.
“The US Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The department said that the Houthis had increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and other infrastructure.
“Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” the statement said.
The spokesperson also warned that “the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly”.
The latest attack on King Fahd International Airport comes amid repeated strikes on airports across Saudi Arabia. Officials have not disclosed further details about the incident.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry has also not identified who launched the drone targeting the Shaybah oil field near the border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The incident left two people injured, in addition to the two deaths reported from debris from an intercepted drone.
The escalation follows a rise in hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis over the past month.
The group has responded to Saudi strikes by launching missiles and drones at airports, energy facilities and military bases across the kingdom. A recent attack on Riyadh’s international airport was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in years.
The group said its attacks were retaliation for what it described as a Saudi blockade of its territory and an air strike on Sanaa airport that it blamed on the kingdom.
The Houthis’ maritime restrictions in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, off Yemen’s south-western coast, have also contributed to a rise in global oil prices. Saudi Arabia had relied on the Red Sea route to export oil after the US-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
