Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh damaged in ‘attempted’ attack | Conflict News

The Saudi Energy Ministry said a building in the capital was damaged by shrapnel.

A Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh was damaged following an “attempted” attack, the Saudi Energy Ministry said.

The administrative building was damaged by “falling shells” and there were no casualties, Saudi state media reported on Sunday, citing a senior ministry source.

Several news agencies reported that a tower belonging to the Saudi oil giant in the capital’s King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) was damaged.

The reports come after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Followers of God), said its air defenses had destroyed several ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-aligned armed group toward the kingdom.

Two of the missiles were launched toward Riyadh, while another targeted the kingdom’s eastern province, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a coalition spokesman, said in separate posts on X on Sunday.

The coalition also intercepted two missiles in the southern region, as well as a drone launched by the Houthis, al-Maliki said.

The Houthis have stepped up attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia since a truce in Yemen’s war collapsed in July.

The group carried out attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport, Ras Tanura and Rabigh oil refineries, as well as other airports and Aramco facilities across the kingdom.

At least 13 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a Houthi strike on Riyadh airport on October 10.

The attacks come as fighting intensifies across Yemen between the Houthis and government forces, who last month launched Operation Yemen Dawn aimed at retaking territory held by the Houthis, including the capital, Sanaa.

Houthi-led Health Ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said on Saturday that 33 people, including eight women and 13 children, were killed after the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on the village of al-Shariyah, near Sanaa.

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There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the reported strikes. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify this information.

Houthi-affiliated media reported on Sunday that various areas in the Saada border district of Saada province were also subjected to artillery bombardment.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree earlier claimed that the coalition carried out 105 airstrikes and missile attacks in 24 hours targeting Sanaa and seven other governorates, bringing the total number of strikes since the start of the escalation to 4,369.

An attack on a market in Taiz province on Friday killed 30 people. The Houthis blamed this on Saudi air attacks, while Yemeni government forces accused the group of firing a ballistic missile at the site.

According to the United Nations, more than 1,600 people have been killed and nearly 300,000 displaced since the 2022 ceasefire collapsed in July after the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi ports.

In September, the Houthis seized much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a lightning offensive, while government forces launched a campaign to reclaim territory held by the Houthis in October.