The key facts
- The US State Department ordered non-emergency embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia; spokesman Tommy Pigott denied reports that the order extended to other countries in the region.
- One person was killed and eight injured in a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam; debris from an intercepted drone at the Shaybah field killed two — a citizen of the Philippines and of Nepal.
- The Houthis did not claim responsibility for the airport strike; the truce, in effect for four years, collapsed amid the war with Iran.
Order to evacuate diplomats
The US State Department has ordered the mandatory departure from Saudi Arabia of non-emergency US government employees and their family members. Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that 'Iran-backed Houthis are increasingly conducting combat operations against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, resulting in civilian casualties and serious disruptions to air traffic.' He also warned that the fighting 'could escalate quickly.'
Disagreement over the scope of the order
Reuters and AFP, citing unnamed sources, reported that a similar order had been extended to other countries in the region; AFP named the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. Pigott denied these reports, calling them 'inaccurate' and clarifying that the order applies only to staff in Saudi Arabia. According to DW, the US has already issued similar directives several times this year amid the war with Iran and Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia in response to the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran.
Casualties of attacks in Dammam and near Shaybah
According to Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation, the strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday evening killed one person and injured eight — injuries were assessed as ranging from 'light to serious.' The extent of material damage is being assessed; no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Houthis have not acknowledged it. Flightradar24 reported that flights from the airport were diverted as operations were halted. Earlier the same day, the Ministry of Energy reported intercepting a drone flying toward an oil facility at the Shaybah field near the border with the UAE: falling debris killed a citizen of the Philippines and a citizen of Nepal and injured two more. The BBC notes that the ministry did not name who launched the drone.
Context of the conflict
The conflict between Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis and Saudi Arabia has intensified over the past month. The Houthis are responding to Saudi strikes with missile and drone attacks on airports, energy facilities and military bases; the recent strike on Riyadh international airport was, according to the BBC, the deadliest in the kingdom in years. The civil war in Yemen began after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and escalated in 2015 with the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition. An informal truce held for four years but collapsed in July, when the Houthis declared a 'naval blockade' of Saudi Arabia and began attacks on its airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, calling this a response to the Saudi blockade of their territory and the strike on Sanaa airport, which they attribute to the kingdom. According to the BBC, the 'naval blockade' in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait contributed to rising world oil prices, since Saudi Arabia — after the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf was effectively closed due to the US-Israel war with Iran — has relied on exports through the Red Sea.
