Attack on Dammam airport kills one, injures eight, Saudi aviation authority says

As of 7:09 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, on Wednesday evening killed one resident and injured eight other people, the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation said.

The injuries ranged "from minor to critical," and all of the injured "were immediately transported to hospital to receive the necessary medical care," the authority said in a statement posted on X. The attack "also caused property damage, the extent of which is currently being assessed," the statement said, adding that further updates would be provided.

The authority did not identify the person who was killed. Saudi Gazette, reporting the authority's statement, described the person as an expatriate. The Saudi Press Agency also carried the statement.

Earlier incidents in the Eastern Province

Shortly before the authority's statement, the Saudi Press Agency reported that the coalition said four drones had been intercepted and destroyed in the Eastern Province. The agency's report, as posted on X, did not mention the airport.

Earlier Wednesday, an Energy Ministry official told the Saudi Press Agency that air defenses had intercepted a drone aimed at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field, and that two foreign residents were killed and two other people injured. Read GROKsiNEWS.com's coverage of the Shaybah attack.

What is not known

The aviation authority did not say what struck the airport, who carried out the attack, which parts of the airport were damaged or whether flights were affected. It did not give the nationality of the person who was killed.