A Saudi airport attack on Wednesday evening killed two people and wounded eight others at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said. The authority did not describe the type of attack. The dead were a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident, and the injured included people from Saudi Arabia, India, Yemen, Bangladesh and Nepal.
This Saudi airport attack is the latest in a run of strikes on the kingdom's airports and other sites that the Houthi movement has targeted.
Casualties and a separate drone incident
Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi energy ministry said debris from a drone it had intercepted in the Eastern Province, near Dammam, killed two people. According to the ministry, the drone was trying to hit a facility belonging to the state oil company Aramco at the Shaybeh oil field, and a contractor's vehicle there caught fire. The ministry named the two dead as residents of the Philippines and Nepal. These deaths were reported separately from the airport casualties, so the two incidents should not be added together.
The Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's government said four more drones were intercepted on Wednesday night. The Houthi movement, which is backed by Iran, had made no immediate comment on the airport attack. The group has said in the past that its strikes on Saudi airports, energy sites and military bases answer Saudi air strikes on territory it holds in western Yemen.
Houthi attacks and the wider war
Saudi authorities say at least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since early October. A missile strike on Riyadh's international airport on 10 October killed 13 people and injured 308 others, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. On Wednesday, the Houthis' military spokesman said the group had aimed at military hardware at the airport in al-Mukalla, a city in southern Yemen, which it said Saudi Arabia had moved for pro-government forces.
The war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis forced the internationally recognised government out of Sanaa. A year later, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states stepped in to try to restore that government. An informal ceasefire that had lasted about four years came apart in July, when the Houthis announced an embargo at sea against Saudi Arabia and launched missile and drone raids on airports, energy installations and vessels in the Red Sea. The group said it was responding to what it describes as a Saudi blockade of its territory, and to a strike on Sanaa's airport that it attributed to the kingdom.
In September, the Houthis took over a stretch of Red Sea coastline in Yemen's southwest, close to Bab al-Mandab, a strait that is crucial for shipping worldwide. Earlier this month, government-aligned troops said they had retaken high ground above the strait with Saudi air cover. Heavy fighting continues there, around the besieged city of Taiz, and in Marib, al-Jawf, Dhale and Shabwa provinces. According to the United Nations, more than 256,000 people have been forced from their homes.
It is not yet clear who carried out the Dammam attack or what weapon was used. Further statements from GACA, the energy ministry or the Houthis could clarify matters.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- July: The Houthis announce an embargo at sea against Saudi Arabia and launch missile and drone raids on Saudi airports, oil sites and Red Sea tankers.
- September: The Houthis take over part of Yemen's southwest Red Sea coast near Bab al-Mandab.
- From early October: Saudi authorities say at least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports.
- 10 October: A missile strike on Riyadh's international airport kills 13 people and injures 308.
- Wednesday: Drone debris kills two people in the Eastern Province. That evening, an attack at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam kills two and injures eight, and four more drones are intercepted overnight.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Dammam ke King Fahd International Airport par Wednesday ki shaam ke hamle mein do log hal ho gaye aur aath zakhmi huye. Saudi hukam ne abhi tak hamle ki qism nahi batayi aur Houthi tanzeem ne foran koi jawab nahi diya. Saudi airports par Houthi hamlon ka silsila October se jaari hai, is liye safar se pehle taaza khabar zaroor dekh lein. Aam logon ke liye iska matlab hai ke flights mein dair ya tabdeeli ho sakti hai.
