US orders embassy staff, families to leave Saudi Arabia

The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their families to depart from Saudi Arabia. According to Egypt Independent, the State Department issued this ordered departure for non-emergency employees in response to intensifying strikes by Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen. These hostilities have included attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure, leading to civilian casualties and travel disruptions.

Gulf News reports that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam resumed operations following an attack on Wednesday evening that killed two people and injured eight others. The fatalities included a Saudi citizen and an Indian national, while the injured included a Saudi citizen and seven expatriates of Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese nationalities.

Egypt Independent noted that the State Department issued a security alert warning U.S. citizens of potential attacks on airports and general travel disruptions. This follows recent Houthi attacks targeting maritime traffic, oil infrastructure, Saudi military facilities, and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, Gulf News, Ajel English, Egypt Independent — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.