Image caption, Dammam is the largest city in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province Two people were killed and eight others injured in an attack on an airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) says. Those killed at King Fahd International Airport were a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident, while the injured were Saudi, Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Nepalese nationals. The GACA did not say what type of attack occurred, but Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has repeatedly targeted the kingdom's airports with drones and missiles. On Wednesday morning, two people were killed by debris from a drone that was intercepted over Eastern Province, where Dammam is located, the Saudi energy ministry said. The ministry said the drone was intercepted as it attempted to target a processing facility owned by Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco in the Shaybeh oil field, where a contractor's vehicle was set ablaze.

Deadly attacks in the kingdom, including against Saudi Aramco facilities, have heightened concerns that escalating Middle East hostilities could hit oil supplies. Oil advanced after deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia heightened concerns that escalating Middle East hostilities could hit supplies, even as exports through the Strait of Hormuz accelerate. Brent rose to trade near $110 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was around $98. A drone strike on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field killed two people but left operations unaffected, while an attack on the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, killed one. The U.S. also ordered the departure of some personnel and family members from American diplomatic facilities in the kingdom. Global benchmark Brent has surged about 80% this year after flows from the Persian Gulf were disrupted by the U.S.-Iran war, which is approaching its ninth month with little sign of a resolution.

Image caption, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis also attacked the airport in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh earlier this month The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as attacks escalate, with three people killed in strikes across the country. Saudi authorities said debris from a drone intercepted during an attempted attack on an oil field killed two people, while one person died after a strike at the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Conflict between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia has been rising in the past month. The Houthis have responded to Saudi strikes by launching missiles and drones at airports, energy facilities and military bases in Saudi Arabia. A recent strike on Riyadh's international airport was the deadliest in the kingdom in years.

The UK will deploy RAF Typhoon jets to defend Saudi Arabia in response to escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, the government has said. The defensive mission will help defend Saudi cities and infrastructure - a move authorised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham - against aerial attacks by the Iran-backed group. It follows Houthi attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as on energy sites on the country's coast. These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said in a written statement on Tuesday. The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

A judge ordered Abdulrahman Alfozan to remain in custody, likening the Saudi government's offer to secure the former OpenAI engineer's release to a "blank check." The former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a company conference room must stay in custody while he awaits trial, a federal judge ruled on Monday after expressing concerns about his ties to Saudi Arabia. US prosecutors alleged Abdulrahman Alfozan is a flight risk because the Saudi Arabian government has offered to support him with no strings attached. They cited, for example, the Saudi consulate's offer to work with a bail bonds firm to help fund Alfozan's release. Federal magistrate judge Alex Tse questioned whether Alfozan is an "asset" for the kingdom and how a bond backed by the government could keep him in the country.

An ex-OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, United States prosecutors have said in a court filing. Federal prosecutors allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family and that a Saudi military official paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan's wife and young son to return to Saudi Arabia after his arrest, according to the court document, made public late on Sunday. Alfozan, a Saudi national and lawful permanent resident in the US, is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday. The case has highlighted security challenges around sensitive AI research as companies and governments compete fiercely for an edge in the transformational technology. "The defendant went to significant lengths to create customized, encrypted recording devices to secretly record highly sensitive meetings involving senior OpenAI personnel and executives, high-level business counterparts, and government officials, all while communicating with individuals of significance in Saudi Arabia and pursuing opportunities in -- and making plans to travel to -- Saudi Arabia," prosecutors wrote in a detention memo.

A Saudi national charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's meeting rooms has been accused of having considerable support from the Saudi government, according to a court filing, external in California. US prosecutors claimed Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked for the AI firm, was in frequent communication... with a member of the Saudi royal family, and say a member of the country's military paid for a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia for his wife and son after his arrest. It was argued the 35-year-old engineer therefore posed a flight risk and should be detained, pending trial. The Saudi government did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment. Alfozan had worked at OpenAI for around a year before he allegedly made his attempt to plant an audio recorder.

Image caption, Yemen's government said the missile strike killed recruits to its internal security forces (file photo) More than 50 security personnel have been killed and 200 injured in a Houthi missile strike on a camp in Yemen's central province of Shabwa, local authorities say. A spokesman for the Saudi-backed Yemeni armed forces said the Iran-backed group launched three ballistic missiles at al-Alam camp near Ataq city, which was being used as a training centre for recruits to the security forces and police. The head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, condemned what he called the criminal attack and promised a firm response. The Houthis' military spokesman said they had targeted Saudi enemy concentrations. Yemen's devastating civil war has flared up in recent months.

A former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a listening device at the AI company was communicating with Saudi royal family members before his FBI arrest, prosecutors say.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Here's what we know about the man who allegedly bugged an OpenAI conference room in San Francisco The OpenAI logo is seen displayed on a cell phone in front of an image on a computer screen generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search.