Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis traded fresh strikes on energy infrastructure, with the Iran-backed group again targeting the Saudi capital and appearing to hit the headquarters of Saudi state oil giant Aramco.
An administrative building belonging to Aramco in the Eastern Province city of Dhahran, where the company is headquartered, was targeted, according to Saudi authorities. It caused a limited fire, but it’s not clear if this was due to a direct hit or to falling debris. No injuries were reported.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed three cruise missiles and two drones targeting the Riyadh region and southern Saudi Arabia. At least four people were injured from falling debris, according to Saudi authorities.
CNN has reached out to Aramco for comment.
It marked the latest escalation between the two sides, following a week of deadly Houthi missile and drone attacks that shut Riyadh’s main international airport.
The strikes also came just hours after Saudi Arabia attacked a key fuel depot on Tuesday, which it claims was being used by Houthi rebels to support strikes on the kingdom’s airports and energy facilities – as well as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Earlier, the Houthi-controlled Yemen Oil Company had said that the facility held no stocks of petroleum products, and that an attack would not affect fuel reserves or supplies.
The strikes killed two civilians and injured two, according to the Houthis, though the Saudi-led coalition insisted it had warned civilians to leave the area beforehand.
“This operation focused on neutralizing the capabilities the Houthi militia uses to threaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and maritime corridors,” coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.
Tuesday’s exchange comes amid signs the long-running conflict, which reignited this summer and intensified last month after years of relative calm, is continuing to escalate.
Earlier Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward its eastern province, and another aimed at Haradh near the Yemeni border. It also reported intercepting three Houthi drones north of Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that artillery fire by the Saudi-led coalition in Saada province wounded three Yemenis and two African residents in Baqim district. It later reported that two civilians were killed and two others wounded by artillery fire on residential villages in the border district of Shada in Sadaa, and also reported strikes in Sanaa and several other provinces. CNN cannot independently verify the reports.
The conflict has been intensifying since the Houthis announced in July that — in response to what they say is retaliation for a Saudi blockade on the Yemeni capital — they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea as well as infrastructure inside the kingdom.
Those attacks have stepped up in recent days, including with repeated strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, where 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded on Saturday in what was the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
The US, UK, Spain and Canada are among countries now warning their citizens against using the airport. Meanwhile, the US State Department on Tuesday expanded travel restrictions for US government personnel in the kingdom, saying employees now require special authorization from the chief of mission to use any airport in Saudi Arabia.
The attacks have also exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s defense capabilities as it wages its air campaign in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is fighting the Houthis on the ground.
On Tuesday, the Yemeni government forces claimed to have made continued advances in the military operation, dubbed “Dawn of Yemen.” It said that in the past 24 hours its forces had carried out 2,200 strikes against Houthi positions, killing about 1,200 fighters and destroying or disabling more than 440 military vehicles and other assets. CNN could not independently verify the figures.
Meanwhile, the Houthis vowed further attacks against economic and aviation targets within Saudi Arabia, warning that they would target facilities belonging to Aramco as well as the King Khalid International Airport if Saudi forces continued attacking them.
CNN’s Eyad Kourdi contributed to the report.
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