One killed, eight injured in attack on Saudi airport as US orders diplomats to leave country

One person has been killed in an attack on a major international airport in Saudi Arabia as the US has ordered its diplomats to leave the region.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation has confirmed an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam has killed one resident and injured eight others.

Rising tensions in the region have forced the US State Department to order some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Riyadh.

Officials said they currently plan to withdraw family members from several other US missions in the region.

Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the department ordered the departure of "non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only" amid attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen on civilian targets in the country.

Washington had returned some diplomatic personnel to the region in recent months after many were pulled out when Tehran launched attacks on US facilities after the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.

Mr Pigott said: "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."

Four US officials have told Reuters US missions in other Gulf states would also be ordering family members to leave,

Mr Pigott did not confirm these reports.

The latest withdrawals follow an escalation of the fighting in Yemen, opening another front in the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli ⁠war on Iran.

The wider conflict has snarled global energy trade and seriously impacted Gulf economies.

The US embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on Wednesday about possible further attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, after recent deadly strikes, including on the main airport in the Saudi capital.

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The embassy and a CIA station hosted there came under attack by drones in early March, as Iran began launching attacks across the region.

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