Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched missile and drone attacks in Saudi Arabia. Among these, the Iran-backed group also attacked an administrative building of the country’s state oil company, Aramco. The building, located in the eastern city of Dhahran, caught fire after the assault.
However, no casualties or injuries have been reported in this incident. Meanwhile, Saudi authorities reported that four people were injured and 15 homes damaged by debris after two Houthi missiles launched towards Riyadh were intercepted.
According to Al Jazeera, Houthi rebels attacked an administrative building of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco just hours after the Saudi-led coalition struck oil facilities in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The building, located in the eastern city of Dhahran, caught fire following the attack on Tuesday (October 13). However, no casualties were reported in this incident.
Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported this information, citing an official from the Ministry of Energy. The ministry stated in a release that measures were taken to control the fire caused by Tuesday’s attack. No one was killed or injured in the incident.
Prior to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s national oil company headquarters, the Houthis had issued a warning on Tuesday, urging workers and civilians near Saudi oil facilities to evacuate. The group also referred to these facilities as “legitimate targets.”
Behind Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree’s warning was a directive from the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition had called on civilians to evacuate the Al-Sabah central oil facility in Sanaa, the capital controlled by the Houthis. In response to the coalition’s directive, Saree warned that if Sanaa was attacked, there would be a “harsh and painful” retaliation in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia also reported intercepting missiles launched by Houthis towards Riyadh. Citing SPA, a spokesperson for the country’s civil defense department stated that four people were injured and 15 homes were damaged by debris after two missiles were intercepted.
Al Jazeera reported that moments after the Saudi-led coalition’s warning, Al Jazeera journalists on the ground heard explosions in Sanaa. Houthi-affiliated media outlets reported that an oil facility in the Al-Sabah area of the capital was damaged by airstrikes from Saudi-backed forces.
Houthi officials apparently anticipated the attacks. Yemen’s oil company had stated that its oil storage facilities were empty, meaning Saudi attacks would not impact oil reserves or supplies to local residents.
However, city residents reported long queues of cars at several petrol stations, fearing a potential oil shortage.
Al Jazeera correspondent Youssef Mawry said, “We heard explosions when Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen’s Al-Sabah central oil facility in the capital Sanaa.”
According to Mawry’s information, Saudi Arabia also conducted two more rounds of airstrikes targeting Yemen’s oil storage tanks at Ras Isa port. Additionally, an oil facility in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah province was also attacked.
Major General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, accused the Houthis of using the facility and its underground fuel depot as an arsenal for missiles and drones.
Following reports of explosions, Yahya Saree stated that clashes were ongoing between Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed forces in Sanaa. In a statement on social media platform X, Saree said that if the Saudi-led coalition attacked Sanaa, the Houthis would target the facilities that had been ordered to be evacuated.
Earlier on Tuesday, civilians were ordered to evacuate Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and an Aramco-related oil refinery in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Turkey-based news outlet TRT World reported that the Saudi-led coalition intercepted and destroyed a missile launched by Houthi rebels in Al-Kharj on Tuesday. This incident occurred amidst a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
Previously, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense department had reported that four people were injured in Riyadh due to debris from two intercepted missiles. Fifteen homes sustained minor damage in the incident.
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