India condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia after an Indian national was injured in an attack at the Shaybah oilfield in the Kingdom. The condemnation, reported in the Economic Times breaking-news live blog on October 23, followed strikes that also hit an airport in eastern Saudi Arabia.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh was informed of the injury to the Indian national and is in touch with Saudi authorities, the reports said. The Ministry of External Affairs said it is working with airlines to ensure the early return of affected pilgrims.
The condemnation was India’s stated position on the incidents reported that day. Consular responses of this kind follow a set pattern: the embassy establishes contact with the host country’s authorities, and the foreign ministry arranges travel for affected citizens. The reports described both steps without giving timelines for either.
Indian injured in Saudi Arabia oilfield attack
The Shaybah oilfield attack left one Indian national injured, according to the reporting. The Embassy in Riyadh took up the case with Saudi authorities after being informed of the injury.
No further detail about the injured person’s condition was given in the reports available. The summaries did not say what role the person had at the oilfield or how the injury occurred.
Shaybah is one of the Kingdom’s major oilfields, and an attack there carries weight beyond the immediate casualties. The summaries did not describe any damage to the facility itself.
The injury to the Indian national was the element that drew India’s direct condemnation. The reports did not say whether other nationalities were affected in either incident.
The MEA’s statement on the Saudi Arabia attacks also covered the pilgrim angle. It said the ministry is working with airlines to ensure the early return of affected pilgrims, a step aimed at travellers caught up in the disruption. Pilgrims affected by the disruption were the other group named in India’s response, and the airline coordination was presented as the practical step for their return.
Saudi Arabia airport attack kills one resident
Separately, one Saudi resident was killed in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in eastern Saudi Arabia. The death was announced by the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority. King Fahd International Airport serves Dammam and the surrounding region, and the announcement came from the civil aviation authority rather than from a security agency, as far as the summaries showed.
The reports did not say which group was behind the attack on the airport or the strike on the oilfield in Saudi Arabia. No claim of responsibility was mentioned in the summaries available.
The airport attack and the oilfield strike were reported together as the incidents behind India’s condemnation. The live blog carried them as a single developing story on October 23.
Drones intercepted over Saudi Arabia
The Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting five drones, according to the live blog. The interception claim was carried without detail on where or when the drones were stopped.
The reports did not connect the intercepted drones to a specific one of the attacks. They presented the interception as a separate reported fact in the same coverage.
Interceptions of drones have been reported in the region before, though the summaries did not place this incident in a wider pattern.
The summaries gave no inventory of the damage the drones might have caused before being stopped. The coalition’s statement was reported as a claim, and the live blog carried no independent confirmation.
India’s response to the Saudi Arabia attacks combined condemnation with consular steps: the Embassy’s contact with Saudi authorities and the MEA’s work with airlines on the return of affected pilgrims. The reporting did not describe any further Indian action beyond those two measures.
The October 23 reports left several questions open, including the identity of the attackers and the condition of the injured Indian. The live blog format means details arrived in updates rather than in a single account. The figures carried were one Indian injured, one resident killed and five drones intercepted; those were the only numbers in the reporting.