At least two people were killed in a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as Washington ordered some U.S. diplomatic staff to leave the kingdom following weeks of deadly attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia. A Saudi national and an Indian resident died in the strike, while eight others were wounded. In a separate incident, two people were killed and two others were wounded when a drone was intercepted over Aramco’s Shaybah oil field.
Falling drone fragments sparked a fire in a contractor’s vehicle, killing a Filipino and a Nepali. The Houthis have been pummeling Saudi Arabia’s aviation and energy infrastructure for weeks, killing at least 22 civilians and roiling energy markets. The price of oil jumped about 3 percent on Thursday, with the global benchmark topping $112 a barrel, the highest level since mid-May.
Saudi Arabia announced a bombing campaign against the Houthis this month in support of the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which has been at war with the Houthis since 2014. As the fighting has spilled onto Saudi soil, the United States ordered all “non-emergency government employees and their family members” to leave Saudi Arabia, a State Department spokesman, Tommy Pigott, said in a social media post on Wednesday night that cited the Houthis’ attacks, mounting civilian casualties and travel disruptions.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing