DAMMAM, Thursday, October 22, 2026 — An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one resident and injured eight others on Wednesday evening, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed, as the United States ordered non-emergency government staff and their families to leave the kingdom amid an intensifying Houthi assault on Saudi civilian infrastructure.
The Dammam airport strike
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced that King Fahd International Airport was targeted by an attack on the evening of Wednesday, October 21, corresponding to 10 Jumada Al-Awwal 1448 AH.
“The attack resulted in the fatality of a resident, may Allah bestow His mercy upon him, and injuries to eight others, ranging from minor to critical,” the authority said in a statement posted on X, adding that all the injured were immediately transported to hospital.
GACA said the attack also caused property damage to the airport, and that the extent of the damage was still being assessed. Further updates were expected, officials said.
Deadly drone debris at Aramco’s Shaybah field
Hours before the Dammam announcement, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said two people — a Filipino and a Nepali national — were killed and two others injured by falling debris after air defence forces intercepted a drone targeting a facility at Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield in the Empty Quarter.
“The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others,” the ministry said in a statement. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said four drones targeting the kingdom’s Eastern Province had been intercepted.
US orders diplomats out
Citing the escalating attacks, the US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency US government employees and their family members from Saudi Arabia, the first such ordered departure since the regional conflict intensified.
“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 wrote on X.
US officials told Reuters the department also planned to withdraw family members from a number of other American missions in the region, and a diplomatic source told AFP that families of US embassy personnel were being pulled out of the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. Pigott stressed, however, that Wednesday’s formal order applied to Saudi Arabia only.
Aviation chaos deepens
The Dammam strike is the latest in a near-daily wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi airports that has upended Gulf aviation. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been largely closed since October 10, though on Wednesday a limited number of Saudi carriers resumed flights there with prior permission. Major airlines including Lufthansa and Air France have cancelled Riyadh flights through mid-November, and US government personnel now require special permission to use any Saudi airport, according to recent State Department alerts.
India issued a fresh advisory for its nationals in Saudi Arabia following the Dammam attack, as the Iranian-backed Houthis — who control northwestern Yemen — pressed on with missile and drone strikes against Saudi airports and energy installations.
