In brief
Yemen’s Houthi movement says it launched a drone strike against King Fahd International Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, killing a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident while injuring eight others. The attack is part of a broader campaign that has already seen more than 20 deaths at Saudi airports since early October, including the deadly Riyadh airfield attack in early October. Saudi intelligence intercepted drones aimed at Aramco facilities, killing civilians from the Philippines and Nepal when debris fell. The coalition has counter‑intercepted dozens of drones and missiles, but tensions over a blockade and air strikes persist in the region.
A group of Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, that killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident and injured eight others. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation has not disclosed the nature of the strike, but Houthi spokesmen say the airport was one of several targets hit with drones and missiles over the past 48 hours.
The same day, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry reported that two more people died when debris from an intercepted drone fell on a contractor vehicle at an Aramco processing facility in the Shaybah oil field, killing nationals from the Philippines and Nepal. The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, denied responsibility for the Shaybah incident but confirmed attacks on other sites, including the Riyadh defence ministry headquarters, Yanbu’s Aramco facility and Abha International Airport.
The Saudi‑led coalition says it intercepted four drones over the Eastern Province on Wednesday night and another four over Riyadh and Medina on Thursday. Despite these interceptions, the country’s security authorities warn that at least 21 people have been killed in Houthi strikes on Saudi airports since the start of October, including the deadliest Riyadh airfield attack on 10 October that claimed 13 lives and injured 308.
The Houthi attacks have been framed as retaliation for Saudi air strikes in Yemen, and the rebels have cited a Saudi blockade and a strike on Sanaa airport as triggers. Since the war erupted in 2014, the Houthis have threatened and attacked maritime routes near the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, raising global shipping concerns. The conflict continues to cause widespread casualties, with Yemen’s health ministry reporting 155 civilian deaths and the Saudi health ministry citing 1,574 deaths, as well as displacing more than 256,000 people throughout the country.
