US diplomats and families leave Saudi missions as Houthi attacks kill three

The US State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave its missions in Saudi Arabia, following escalating Houthi attacks on civilian targets in the kingdom. The order came as attacks killed at least one person and injured eight others at Dammam's King Fahd International Airport, and two people died in a drone strike on an oil field. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott cited "civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions" from Iran-aligned Houthi hostilities. Four US officials said family members would also be withdrawn from missions in other Gulf states. The withdrawals follow an escalation in Yemen, opening a new front in the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.