Houthis Claim Six Attacks on Saudi Airports and Oil Facilities
Yemen's Houthi movement said on October 30 that it had carried out six attacks on Saudi Arabian airports and oil facilities, according to a statement from its spokesperson, Yahya Saree. Al Jazeera reported that there was no independent confirmation of the claims.
Saree named six targets. He said a ballistic missile, a missile that travels on a high, arcing path, hit the Ras Tanura oil refinery, and that a missile struck an Aramco facility in Abqaiq. Aramco is Saudi Arabia's state oil company. He also said multiple missiles were aimed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, a drone at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, a ballistic missile at the Rabigh oil refinery, and a missile at a Saudi military headquarters in the Najran region.
Saudi authorities described a different sequence of events in Riyadh. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, said coalition air defences had intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward the Saudi capital. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence said shrapnel from the interception wounded one Saudi citizen in Riyadh and damaged a house and a vehicle. Warning alerts about incoming potential threats had been issued in Riyadh and al-Kharj governorates and in Najran city before the interceptions were announced.
The latest claims follow weeks of escalating exchanges. In early October, Reuters reported that two Saudi airports had been targeted as fighting with the Houthis intensified, and that the group had carried out missile and drone attacks on airports, oil facilities and military sites. Reuters also reported that attacks on Saudi airports had killed three people. On October 14, the Houthis vowed more attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, describing them as legitimate targets and saying the attacks were retaliation for Saudi strikes on Yemen. On October 26, Reuters reported that the Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Arabia's East-West crude oil pumping stations, and that they had also said they attacked Riyadh airport.
Yemen's internationally recognised government has also been drawn into the dispute. In a statement, it called on the UN Security Council, the body responsible for matters of international peace and security, to take deterrent and punitive measures to stop Houthi attacks on Aden International Airport in southern Yemen. Earlier, the Yemeni ministry had said the Houthis struck Aden airport as a flight was due to land.
Separately, Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, hosted a meeting on peace and security in Tehran. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin attended.
