The U.S. Department of State warned Americans on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is at risk of attacks with ballistic missiles from neighboring Yemen.
A new U.S. travel warning follows a Houthi missile attack in early November near the international airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The missile was intercepted. Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia say the Houthis got the missile from Iran. The Houthis are Shiite rebels who control much of Yemen.
#SaudiArabia Travel Warning: carefully consider risks of travel to Saudi Arabia due to continuing threats from terrorist groups & threat of ballistic missile attacks on civilian targets by rebel forces in Yemen. https://t.co/5aRUUzqD5I pic.twitter.com/3Y9MQ6Lctd
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) November 21, 2017
The travel warning says several long-range missiles have been fired from Yemen at major cities in the last year. It also says terrorist attacks “can occur without warning anywhere” in Saudi Arabia.
The State Department also says that U.S. government workers and their families are prohibited from traveling to the areas of Qatif and Hofuf in Saudi Arabia.
