The State Department on Monday issued an updated advisory for Americans traveling in the Middle East, telling citizens to expect flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions due to the “complex security environment” in the region.
The notice specifically mentioned the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and warned that they have the “potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area.
“Americans traveling to or from the Middle East should monitor information about airport and airline operations and develop contingency plans in advance. Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States,” a statement on social media reads. The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia’s war with the Houthi rebels in Yemen continues to escalate.
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Overnight, the Houthis, who are mostly concentrated in western Yemen, struck the al-Alam military camp housing soldiers from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, killing at least 20 people, according to reports.
The Houthis have not officially claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Houthi-owned news outlet SABA said Monday that the rebels were behind the attack and that dozens were killed and wounded.
The camp is located in the southern province of Shabwa near the city of Ataq, the regional capital.
Yemeni military spokesperson Col. Majed al-Nazili confirmed that the Houthis had targeted a training facility for police and security forces with three ballistic missiles, but did not confirm any deaths or casualties.
Rashad al-Alimi, the chief of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, promised a “firm response to the attack.”
The deadly strike follows several Houthi missile and drone attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, including a major airport in Riyadh and an Aramco office building. The latest attacks have killed at least a dozen people in the kingdom.
The State Department announcement also comes as President Trump considers another escalation in the U.S.’ war with Iran, which could exacerbate possible safety issues for travelers in the Middle East.
Iranian officials have insisted that any further U.S. aggression would result in massive retaliation in the region, including new targets that Iran had not struck during earlier phases of the war.
While fighting between the U.S. and Iran has been unofficially paused for weeks, semi-regular attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have kept oil prices above $100 a barrel for most of October and September.
Those prices have, in turn, led to higher costs for Americans at the pump. The average gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. stood at 4.29, according to data from AAA.
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