Two killed in attack on airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, authorities say

Two individuals were killed and eight others injured in an attack on an airport in Dammam.

Key points

• While the injured were Saudi, Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Nepalese nationals, those killed at King Fahd International Airport were a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident.
• The UN notes more than 256, 000 residents have additionally been displaced.
• When the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised administration from the capital, Sanaa, the war began in 2014.
• At least 21 individuals have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October, according to Saudi authorities.
• Houthi-run media documented that at least six residents had been killed and 11 injured in air and artillery strikes over the previous 24 hours.

Two individuals were killed and eight others injured in an attack on an airport in Dammam. Eastern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) states.

Meanwhile, the GACA did not say what type of attack occurred, but Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has repeatedly targeted the kingdom's airports with drones and missiles.

On Wednesday morning, two individuals were killed by debris from a drone that was intercepted over Eastern Province, where Dammam is located, the Saudi energy ministry stated.

Notably, the ministry remarked the drone was intercepted as it attempted to target a processing facility owned by Saudi Arabia's state oil business Aramco in the Shaybeh oil field, where a contractor's vehicle was set ablaze. It identified the dead as residents from the Philippines and Nepal.

Another four drones were additionally intercepted on Wednesday night, according to the Saudi-led coalition that is supporting the Yemeni administration in its war against the Houthis.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis, but they have previously remarked they are attacking Saudi airports, energy facilities and military bases in retaliation for deadly Saudi air strikes on the territory they control in western Yemen.

US orders some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate. UK to deploy jets to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks.

On Yemen's desert battlefield, a war with global consequences is being waged.

One missile strike on Riyadh's international airport on 10 October killed 13 individuals and injured 308 others – the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' military spokesman remarked on Wednesday that they had targeted military equipment at an airport in the southern Yemeni city of al-Mukalla. It it stated had been transported by Saudi Arabia for employ by pro-government forces.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run media documented that at least six residents had been killed and 11 injured in air and artillery strikes over the previous 24 hours.

According to the Houthi-run health ministry, 155 civilians have been killed since Yemen's devastating civil war flared up three months ago.

For context, the government's health ministry has remarked at least 1, 574 residents have been killed in the conflict over the same period.

Meanwhile, the UN notes more than 256, 000 residents have additionally been displaced.

When the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised administration from the capital, Sanaa, the war began in 2014. After the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule, the conflict escalated the next year.

When the Houthis confirmed a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, a four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July.

As well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom, the Houthis remarked they were retaliating for what they call a Saudi blockade of their territory.

In practice, the conflict escalated in September after the Houthis seized part of Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint for global shipping. Their advance contributed to a rise in oil rates after six months of war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Earlier this month, pro-government forces remarked they had regained control of territory overlooking Bab al-Mandab after launching a counter-offensive with Saudi air backing.

As well as around the besieged government-controlled city of Taiz, and to the north in Marib, al-Jawf, Dhale and Shabwa provinces, nevertheless, fierce fighting is continuing there.

For now, two killed in attack on airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, authorities say remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.