US orders non-essential personnel to leave Saudi Arabia amid rising Houthi attacks
The United States has ordered non-essential government personnel and their families to depart Saudi Arabia, citing security concerns amid escalating Houthi attacks.
Staff members were told to leave on 23 October following a number of strikes in recent weeks targeting civilian airports, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure, the US embassy in Riyadh said on Friday, The Independent reported.
It comes as Yemen’s government armed forces spokesperson said that the Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Aden airport and the Maashiq presidential palace complex with ballistic missiles.
The attack comes after at least 13 people were killed and hundreds injured in a strike on Riyadh’s international airport on 10 October, making it the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade.
**21:14
The Saudi-led coalition says its air defence systems have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi-launched ballistic missile targeting the southern province.
The spokesperson for the coalition added in a social media post that a drone was intercepted and destroyed over Riyadh province, Al Jazeera reported.
***
