One Saudi resident was killed and eight people were injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam late Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority announced early Thursday. The airport suffered material damage, and flights were diverted overnight as the kingdom reels from a widening wave of drone and missile strikes.
What Happened at Dammam Airport
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement posted on X that the airport was targeted on the evening of Wednesday, October 21. The eight injured, whose conditions range from minor to critical, were rushed to hospital, and the extent of the property damage is still being assessed.
Global flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said overnight that flights were being diverted away from the airport. Authorities did not say who carried out the attack, and the Iranian-backed Houthis — who have claimed a string of recent strikes on Saudi targets — have not commented. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted four drone attacks in the country's Eastern region.
A Kingdom Under Sustained Attack
The Dammam strike is the latest in an escalating campaign. Hours earlier, Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said debris from an intercepted drone killed two people — Nepali and Filipino nationals — and injured two others, Pakistani and Indian nationals, at the Aramco-operated Shaybah oil field in the country's southeast. The falling debris also sparked a fire in a contractor's vehicle.
Last month, debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia — the first civilian casualty since the Houthis stepped up attacks on Saudi shipping and oil facilities. Earlier this month, a limited fire broke out in an administrative building at Aramco in the Eastern Province after another attack.
US Orders Diplomats' Families Out
Late Wednesday, the United States ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, citing the deadly attacks and fears of further escalation.
"Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. India's embassy in Riyadh has also issued an advisory for its nationals.
King Fahd airport has been hit before amid the wider wave of Houthi missile and projectile strikes on major Saudi airports. With civilian airports, oil fields, and now diplomatic missions in the crosshairs, the region is bracing for what comes next.
Watch: WION reports live on the deadly strike at King Fahd Airport in Dammam and the diverted flights
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