Houthis Claim Attacks on Saudi Oil Facilities, Riyadh Airport; Threaten More Strikes

Yemen’s Houthis on Wednesday claimed to have attacked Saudi Aramco facilities and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, warning that more strikes on Saudi airports and oil installations would follow.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement on X that the operation targeted Aramco facilities in Dhahran, the Ras Tanura refinery and the airport in the Saudi capital.

Saree claimed the strikes caused destruction and fires. Those claims have not been independently verified.

The spokesperson described the attacks as retaliation for what the group called Saudi aggression against Sanaa and other parts of Yemen. He alleged that Saudi forces had carried out 2,281 airstrikes and missile attacks during the escalation, a figure that has not been independently verified.

WARNING OF FURTHER ATTACKS

Saree said operations against Saudi territory would continue in the coming days, with airports and oil facilities remaining targets.

He urged international shipping companies, civilians and workers to stay away from the threatened sites and evacuate, describing them as “legitimate targets”—a characterisation made by the group.

The Houthis said their campaign would continue until attacks on Yemen stopped and what they described as a siege of the country ended.

COALITION ISSUES SANAA EVACUATION NOTICE

The statement followed a warning issued by the Saudi-led coalition on Tuesday, directing civilians to evacuate the Yemeni Oil Company’s Al-Sabahah Central Station in Houthi-controlled Sanaa ahead of a planned military operation.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki urged civilians to leave for their safety and shared a map of the location on X. The coalition had said it would issue an evacuation notice before conducting what it described as a precision operation in the capital.

Details of the operation’s timing and scope were not immediately available.

The Houthis had earlier warned Saudi Arabia against attacking Sanaa, threatening retaliation against Riyadh if the Yemeni capital was bombarded.

MISSILE INTERCEPTIONS CLAIMED

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles headed towards Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia and neutralised three drones north of Riyadh.

The Houthis separately claimed to have shot down a Saudi reconnaissance aircraft. These accounts have not been independently verified.

The escalation raises concerns about oil infrastructure and regional shipping routes, including the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Yemen’s conflict intensified after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and displaced the internationally recognised government. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support that government.

With inputs from ANI