Riyadh (TDI): Yemen’s Houthi movement has vowed to continue attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities after claiming responsibility for strikes targeting Saudi Aramco installations, including the company’s headquarters complex in Dhahran, as tensions escalate across the kingdom.
The Iran-aligned group said on Wednesday that it had launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones towards Aramco facilities in Dhahran, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital. It did not specify when the attacks took place.
The statement followed Tuesday’s attack on the Aramco headquarters complex, where Saudi authorities reported a limited fire but no deaths or injuries.
The Houthis also warned international shipping companies, civilians and workers to leave airports and oil installations, which the group declared legitimate military targets. The threat raises further concerns about the security of Saudi Arabia’s aviation and energy infrastructure amid an expanding conflict linked to the war in Yemen and wider regional tensions.
The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday that it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh. Loud explosions were heard in the capital, while Saudi authorities issued an alert warning of a possible aerial threat before later lifting it, according to a witness cited in the report.
The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear, and Saudi authorities had not publicly explained their source at the time of reporting.
Read More: Dar Calls Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia ‘Totally Unacceptable’
Saudi Arabia has faced a series of Houthi attacks over the past week, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday that reportedly killed 13 people. The airport has been closed until October 17, while airlines have cancelled flights to Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
The latest threats come a day after a missile struck the Saudi Aramco headquarters complex in Dhahran, according to a company source cited by Reuters. The source said the upper three floors of an office tower were damaged.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirmed that the incident caused a limited fire and reported no casualties. The complex houses a major Aramco operations centre overseeing the company’s extensive network of onshore and offshore oil rigs, pipelines, refineries and export terminals.
The site’s strategic importance has heightened concerns over the potential consequences of further attacks on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure.
The Houthis say their attacks are retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemeni government forces in a renewed phase of the country’s civil war.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, seeking to support the internationally recognized government and counter the movement’s expansion. A United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 brought a period of relative calm, although the arrangement remained fragile.
Read More: Saudi Aramco Complex Hit As Houthi Attacks Escalate Across Kingdom
Fighting has intensified again this year amid broader regional tensions involving the United States and Iran. Saudi-led forces have also launched operations against Houthi positions, saying their objective is to reduce the group’s ability to threaten Saudi territory, Yemen and international waterways.
