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The US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency government employees and their families from Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks on the kingdom escalated. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott announced the measure, citing Iranian-supported hostilities that included strikes on civilian airports and critical infrastructure. Pigott added that the attacks had produced civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions while warning that the situation has the potential to escalate rapidly. He noted that the safety and security of department personnel and their families remain the highest priority.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority reported that one person died and eight others sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious in a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on the evening of October 21. The authority stated that the attack forced a halt in operations at the facility with officials assessing the extent of material damage. Flight tracking data showed disruptions beginning around 11:15 p.m. local time.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said two expatriate workers were killed and two others injured earlier that day when air defenses intercepted a drone targeting Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield in the Eastern Province. The ministry identified the dead as a Filipino and a Nepali national with debris from the interception causing the casualties. These incidents brought the day’s death toll to three with Saudi authorities linking both strikes to Houthi aggression.
The ordered departure applies only to Saudi Arabia according to Pigott who described reports of a wider Gulf evacuation as inaccurate. Reuters reported that four US officials said missions in other states including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain would also direct family members to leave. The US embassy in Riyadh had earlier issued a security alert about possible additional Houthi attacks on Saudi targets following a deadly strike on the capital’s international airport earlier in the month.
Oil prices advanced sharply after news of the airport attack with Brent crude rising above 110 dollars a barrel as markets weighed risks to energy infrastructure a Reuters market update showed. The withdrawals follow an escalation in the Yemen conflict that has opened another front in regional tensions triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran according to US officials. The broader fighting has snarled global energy trade and hurt Gulf economies.
A Saudi-led coalition assessment placed the total at more than 1,100 ballistic missiles and 1,135 drones launched by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since March 2016. Houthi attacks have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports and oil facilities this month producing significant travel interruptions across the kingdom. Saudi air defenses have intercepted multiple drones and missiles in recent weeks the Saudi-led coalition reported. The State Department has maintained that hostilities retain the capacity for swift further escalation.
