Strike on Saudi Airport Kills 2 as U.S. Tells Some Diplomats to Leave

At least two people were killed in a strike on a major airport in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, as Washington ordered some U.S. diplomatic staff to leave the kingdom following weeks of deadly attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

The Saudi authorities said in a statement on Thursday morning that a Saudi national and an Indian resident died in the strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, a city in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province that is home to the state oil giant Saudi Aramco. Eight other people were wounded, the statement said, adding that airport was operating normally on Thursday.

In a separate incident, two people were killed and two others were wounded on Wednesday when a drone was intercepted over Aramco’s Shaybah oil field, also in the Eastern Province. Falling drone fragments sparked a fire in a contractor’s vehicle, killing a Filipino and a Nepali, the Saudi Energy Ministry said.

The Saudi authorities did not say who they believed had launched the strike on the airport or the drone intercepted over the oil field. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Read more: The New York Times