Dhahran (TDI): An administrative building within Saudi Aramco’s complex in Dhahran was struck during a fresh wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia, causing a limited fire as the escalating conflict between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement increasingly threatens critical energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday that authorities had responded to the incident late Tuesday and taken the necessary measures to contain the fire. No casualties were reported, according to the ministry.
A source Saudi Aramco said that a ballistic missile had struck the company’s headquarters complex in Dhahran, damaging the top three floors of an office tower. The source and two other people familiar with the matter said the building caught fire, Reuters reported.
The complex houses a major operations centre for Aramco, which manages an extensive network of oil fields, pipelines, refineries and export terminals across Saudi Arabia.
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The reported strike marks a further escalation in attacks targeting the kingdom as Houthi forces continue launching missiles and drones in retaliation for Saudi military support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
The attacks have raised concerns about the security of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure, which is central to global oil supplies, as well as the potential for the conflict to spread to other parts of the region.
The strike on the Aramco complex followed a series of attacks on Saudi territory over the past week. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has reportedly been struck four times, including an attack on Saturday that killed 13 people. The strike was described in the source report as the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in a decade and prompted widespread disruption to air travel.
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Saudi authorities also reported intercepting missiles and drones over Riyadh and the kingdom’s southern region. Saudi Civil Defense said on Wednesday that four people were injured in the capital after debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles fell into residential areas. The injured included two women, a man and a child. The falling debris also caused limited damage to 15 homes, according to a Civil Defense spokesperson.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said fragments from a missile intercepted over Dhahran had fallen in a residential area. It did not provide further details.
