US mission in Saudi Arabia tells Americans to take extreme caution at airports
Adel Haddad 
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia told Americans to take extreme caution at the country’s airports, citing recent missile and drone attacks on them.
The warning came in a security alert dated Nov. 13 and posted early the following day on the mission’s website.
“Please take extreme caution if you choose to use airports in Saudi Arabia,” the alert said, telling citizens to check departure status with both their airline and the airport.
It said the advice followed “recent missile and UAV attacks on airports in the country.” The mission did not say which airports were struck.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been partially open since Oct. 23, handling domestic flights and some international services run by national carriers, according to the alert.
A limited number of Riyadh-based flights are operating instead from Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Qassim, it said.
Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International and Dammam’s King Fahd International are running with some delays and cancellations, the mission said.
The alert marked a change from the mission’s previous notice, issued Nov. 7, which carried no airport detail.
That earlier alert told Americans in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance over what it called an increased threat of armed attacks by Iranian-supported Houthis, and Iranian efforts to target U.S. government officials in the region.
Both alerts said the hostilities had the potential to escalate rapidly. The later one added that they could do so beyond the immediate area.
Both said the Houthis had attacked civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, causing civilian casualties and travel disruption. The Houthis deny targeting the holy city of Mecca, Al Jazeera reported.
The State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia effective Oct. 23, according to both alerts.
Remaining U.S. government staff now need authorization from the chief of mission to use any airport in the kingdom, the Nov. 13 alert said.
They are barred from travelling within 20 miles of the Yemen border and need separate clearance for Jizan, Asir and Najran, and for the cities of Qatif, Yanbu and Taif.
The alert also relayed a warning from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior against filming, publishing or sharing information about counter-missile and drone systems or the sites where projectiles land.
Doing so “exposes you to legal liability,” the ministry said, according to the alert. The mission said U.S. citizens had been detained over photographs of government buildings, airports and impact sites.
It told Americans to follow national alerts issued by Saudi Civil Defense through cell broadcast.
The alert told citizens to enroll in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and to review the travel advisories for both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
It said that in the event of an aerial attack citizens should move away from glass and debris, keep a charged phone with emergency numbers to hand, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.
Saudi Arabia is under a State Department travel advisory at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel,” which cites drone and missile targeting by Iran and the Houthis, armed conflict and terrorism.
Middle East Eye reported on Nov. 4 that the mission had already warned citizens of rising threats from the Houthis, quoting an alert dated Nov. 3.
Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse reported on Nov. 15 that the mission issued a further nationwide alert on Saturday.
The coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh early Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.
He said two suspected drones had been intercepted over Riyadh and southern regions the previous day.
Saudi authorities put the death toll from suspected Houthi drone and missile attacks in the kingdom at at least 26 since Sept. 23, Al Jazeera reported. Yemen Herald could not independently verify that figure.
Houthi-affiliated media reported that two women and two children were injured by artillery shelling in the Shuaub district of Sanaa, Al Jazeera said. Yemen Herald found no second origin for that report.
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the coalition carried out 72 air strikes in Saada, Taiz, Lahij and al-Jawf in 24 hours, Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera reported.
Saree also said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at Saudi-backed forces in the Kharaz area of Lahij, according to Al Jazeera.
He put the combined total of air and missile attacks at 5,020 since fighting resumed over the summer. The coalition has not published a comparable figure.
Yemen’s government military spokesman, Col. Majid al-Nuzaili, said government forces advanced in the al-Hazm and Madghal districts of al-Jawf and that fighting intensified in Marib, according to Al Jazeera. The Houthis dispute government accounts of territorial gains.
Al-Nuzaili said 321 Houthi commanders were killed or wounded in 723 targeted operations in Taiz, Lahij, Marib and al-Jawf, and that 117 military vehicles were destroyed. Those figures rest on the government’s account alone.
The International Organization for Migration says more than 340,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen since August.
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis have repeatedly targeted King Khalid airport, the East-West pipeline and oil installations in eastern and southern Saudi Arabia.
Al Jazeera also reported that coalition-backed government forces said they intercepted several drones heading for Marib.
The mission listed airports in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as operating.
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