Dammam airport attack kills one as US orders departures

An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam resulted in one fatality and eight injuries, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation regulator. The incident took place on Wednesday evening, October 21. The victim was a Saudi resident, while the injured were taken to hospitals with varying degrees of severity. The extent of material damage caused by the attack is under assessment.

The weapon used and the perpetrators remain unidentified, leaving responsibility unconfirmed. Flights were diverted away from the airport following the incident. The attack coincided with a US State Department order requiring non-essential diplomatic personnel and their families to depart Saudi Arabia due to mounting security threats from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

This marks a tightening of precautions for American diplomatic personnel in the kingdom. US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott made it clear that the directive applied exclusively to Saudi Arabia and rejected suggestions that it extended to other Gulf countries. The Houthis have been intensifying attacks against Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian airports and critical infrastructure that have caused deaths, injuries, and travel disruptions.

The US embassy in Riyadh had also issued a security warning about potential further attacks, advising American citizens to assess ground transport options and monitor the changing status of commercial flights. The Dammam airport incident follows other attacks on Saudi transport and energy infrastructure, including a fatal drone strike at the Shaybah oilfield that killed two Nepali and two Filipinos workers.

Despite the pattern of attacks, the Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the Dammam airport strike. Regional security tensions have escalated following a US-led coalition's airstrikes on Yemen, adding to the challenges of protecting commercial transport routes, energy installations, and civilian facilities in the Gulf.