Houthis claim strike on Saudi energy facility as Yemen fighting intensifies

What the report says

Yemen’s Houthi movement said it carried out a missile and drone attack on an Aramco facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as fighting with Saudi-backed forces intensified. In a statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the operation targeted the energy company’s site and caused fires there. Al Jazeera reported that smoke and flames were seen rising near an Aramco facility south of the Saudi capital on Saturday, but Saudi authorities and Aramco had not publicly confirmed an attack or explained the cause of the fire.

The report said the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, responded early Sunday with dozens of strikes against Houthi positions in the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis. A spokesperson for government forces said the attacks hit Houthi fighters and military vehicles. The article also noted that the Houthis recently claimed other attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, including facilities in Yanbu, while Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted missiles and reported no damage at that time.

The latest exchange comes after a fragile 2022 truce collapsed in July and after the Houthis seized Mocha and islands near the Bab al-Mandeb strait in mid-September, a major route for global oil shipping. The broader war began in 2014, when the Houthis took Sanaa and the Yemeni government withdrew to Aden. The renewed violence matters because it raises risks to regional security, oil infrastructure and an already severe humanitarian crisis.