2 killed, 8 injured in Dammam airport attack; air traffic resumes
Key Facts
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Thursday, 22 October 2026, that 2 people were killed and 8 injured in an attack on Dammam airport on Wednesday evening, 21 October, as the airport resumed operations and air traffic returned to normal. Agence France-Presse, citing the authority, reported that the dead were a Saudi man and an Indian man, according to the updated toll announced the day after the attack. Injuries ranged from minor to serious, Gulf News reported, citing the civil aviation authority. The resumption of activity at the airport included the restart of operations and a return to normal aircraft movements, according to the authority's announcement. The authority said "airport operations have resumed and air traffic has returned to normal." The attack follows an earlier assault on Riyadh airport, claimed by the Houthis, that left a higher toll of dead and injured.
In a separate incident on 21 October, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said debris from an intercepted drone fell at an oil field operated by Aramco in the kingdom's southeast. The falling debris killed 2 people and injured 2 others, the Associated Press reported, citing the ministry. The ministry identified debris from the intercepted drone that struck the oil field site as the cause of the casualties. In earlier coverage of attacks on the company's facilities, Reuters cited sources following the attack on Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran as saying the company's operations were continuing normally. The sources added that employees were working from home during that period. Describing the company's situation at the time, the sources said "Aramco's operations were continuing normally, with employees working from home."
In markets, oil prices rose on Thursday, according to Reuters, as additional attacks in Saudi Arabia renewed fears of a widening conflict. The agency linked the rise in crude to traders' concerns about a broader escalation that could bring further supply disruptions. It said additional Houthi attacks in the kingdom had raised fears of "a broader escalation of the conflict and further disruptions to crude supplies." On the diplomatic front, the U.S. State Department ordered non-essential personnel to leave the U.S. embassy in Riyadh and its consulates, according to the Associated Press. The measure covered some diplomats and family members of government employees, affecting U.S. missions in the kingdom.
The Dammam attack was preceded by an assault on Riyadh airport on 10 October 2026, which Reuters said was claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis and killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Against the backdrop of these attacks, Britain's defence ministry announced expanded defensive support for Saudi Arabia in an official statement dated 20 October. The British defence secretary said Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets would conduct defensive air missions to help protect Saudi airspace. Specifying the nature of these missions, the minister said the jets would help protect the skies "from drones and missiles." In Dammam, assessments of damage caused by the airport attack continued on Thursday, 22 October, in cooperation with security authorities, according to the civil aviation authority.