The US State Department has ordered the evacuation of non-emergency diplomatic staff and their family members from Saudi Arabia due to the increasing number of attacks by Houthi insurgents.
What happened
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have launched a series of drone and missile strikes on Saudi civilian airports, including a recent attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam that killed two people and injured eight others.
Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Aramco, has also evacuated staff from its headquarters in Dhahran due to the attacks. The company's building was seriously damaged in a missile attack last week, and all remaining employees have been told to work from home until further notice.
The Houthi attacks have had a significant impact on the markets, with Aramco stock sliding by 0.7 percent and the Saudi benchmark stock index experiencing its biggest loss in over two years.
