Houthis claim missile and drone strikes on two Saudi Aramco sites
Version 2: The Houthis said the strikes hit two Saudi Aramco sites, in Riyadh and in the Khurais area, after earlier reports described a single facility near the capital, and the group stated that the attacks were retaliation for Saudi airstrikes on Yemen and threatened further strikes on Saudi military and oil targets.
In short
Yemen's Houthis said they struck Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and in the Khurais area with ballistic missiles and drones, with spokesman Yahya Saree saying both operations were successful and caused large fires. Kommersant reported that AFP and Reuters cited witnesses who saw smoke and fire at the site and that an AFP correspondent saw ambulances arrive, with no information on casualties; Saudi Aramco did not comment. Saudi authorities and Aramco have not stated the cause of the fire, and the documents contain no independent confirmation of the Houthi claims.
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Yemen's Houthis said they carried out ballistic missile and drone strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and in the Khurais area in the east of the kingdom, according to statements by Houthi representative Yahya Saree reported by Interfax, Vedomosti, TASS, RIA Novosti, Kommersant and RBC. Saree said both operations were successful, that the hits were “precise and direct” and that large fires broke out at the targeted sites, according to Kommersant and Vedomosti. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Saree wrote on social network X that the attacks caused fires at the intended targets and were a response to Saudi airstrikes on territory held by the group in Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, Interfax reported, citing Al Jazeera. According to Saree, Saudi Arabia carried out about 60 airstrikes on Houthi-held territory in the past 24 hours, Interfax said. Vedomosti reported that the Houthis threatened new bombardments of Saudi military and oil facilities. [ 4 , 8 ]
Kommersant reported that AFP and Reuters were first to write about the consequences, citing witnesses who saw smoke and fire at the site, and that an AFP correspondent reported ambulances arriving at the refinery; there was no information on casualties. Associated Press published footage showing a thick column of smoke over the refinery, Kommersant said. Interfax, citing Al Jazeera, reported that huge flames and thick columns of smoke rose over an Aramco refinery on Saturday and that firefighters began putting out the blaze. [ 1 , 4 ]
Saudi Aramco did not comment on the strikes, Kommersant reported, and Saudi authorities and Aramco representatives had made no official statements about the cause of the fire, according to Interfax. The documents contain no independent confirmation of the Houthi claims about the strikes or their results. [ 1 , 4 ]
Kommersant noted that previous attacks on Aramco sites had effects ranging widely: a November 2020 strike on a distribution station disabled one of 13 reservoirs, which was restored within three hours, while March 2022 attacks on refineries near Jeddah and Riyadh halted the kingdom's oil industry for several days. After the 2019 strikes on Abqaiq and Khurais, Saudi Arabia briefly lost the ability to produce up to 5.7 million barrels of oil a day, Kommersant said, adding that the effect on the global oil market was short-lived, so possible damage to a specific facility does not automatically mean a prolonged oil shortage. [ 1 ]
Saudi Arabia is an ally of the internationally recognised Yemeni government fighting the Houthis, Kommersant reported, adding that the conflict actively resumed in July and that by mid-September Ansar Allah had taken control of the country's western coast and the approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, with government forces launching a counteroffensive in early October. Vedomosti reported that on 28 September Yemen's parliament approved a request from Rashad al-Alimi, head of the presidential council and supreme commander of the armed forces, to declare general mobilisation against the Houthis, that the Houthis took the port city of Mokha on 10 September and the city of Dubab on 11 September and then reached Hanish island in the Red Sea, and that on 8 August they carried out a massed rocket strike on oil infrastructure in Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait in response to a Saudi airstrike on a prison in Yemen's northern Al Jawf province. [ 1 , 8 ]
Why it matters
The claimed strikes hit oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia's capital and in the eastern oil region, and the Houthis threatened further attacks on Saudi military and oil targets, indicating the exchange between the two sides is continuing. Kommersant noted that past strikes on Aramco sites had very different effects, and that even the 2019 Abqaiq and Khurais attacks, which briefly cost Saudi Arabia up to 5.7 million barrels a day of production capacity, had only a short-lived effect on the global oil market. With no comment from Saudi authorities or Aramco, the extent of any damage or disruption is not established in the documents.
Key facts
- The Houthis said they struck Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and in the Khurais area with ballistic missiles and drones. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Houthi representative Yahya Saree said the hits were precise and direct, that both operations were successful and that fires broke out at the sites. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
- Saree said the attacks were a response to Saudi airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen, including Sanaa, and claimed about 60 Saudi airstrikes there in the past 24 hours. [ 4 ]
- Kommersant reported that AFP and Reuters first wrote about the consequences, citing witnesses who saw smoke and fire at the site, that AP published footage of a thick smoke column over the refinery, and that an AFP correspondent saw ambulances arrive; there was no information on casualties. [ 1 ]
- Saudi Aramco did not comment, and Saudi authorities and Aramco representatives had made no official statements about the cause of the fire. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The Houthis threatened new strikes on Saudi military and oil facilities. [ 8 ]
- Kommersant said a November 2020 strike on a distribution station disabled one of 13 reservoirs that was restored in three hours, while March 2022 attacks on refineries near Jeddah and Riyadh halted the kingdom's oil industry for several days. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Later Houthi statements named a second target in the Khurais area. [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Yahya Saree was the Houthi representative who made the claims. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
- Saree said the strikes were precise and successful and caused fires at the targeted sites. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 ]
- Saree said the attacks were a response to Saudi airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen. [ 4 , 8 ]
- Saudi Aramco did not comment on the strikes, and Saudi authorities and Aramco had not stated the cause of the fire. [ 1 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the strikes hit the facilities and how much damage they caused. Only the Houthis' own claim is reported; the documents contain no independent confirmation of the hits or their results.
- The exact identity and number of the targets, described by Kommersant, TASS and RBC as an Aramco facility in Riyadh and by Interfax as a large refinery near Riyadh, with later reports citing two sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area. The outlets describe the targets differently and the number of sites changed between reports.
- Whether anyone was killed or injured. Kommersant states there is no information on casualties, and no other document gives any.
- The claim that Saudi Arabia carried out about 60 airstrikes on Houthi-held territory in the past 24 hours. This is a single-source claim by the Houthi spokesman, cited only in the Interfax report.
- The cause of the fire at the refinery. Interfax says Saudi authorities and Aramco had made no official statement, so the cause is not established.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kommersant reports the Houthi claim of a strike on an Aramco facility in Riyadh, citing AP footage of smoke over the refinery and AFP and Reuters accounts of smoke, fire and ambulances, and notes that Aramco has not commented. [ 1 ]
- TASS reports Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree saying the hits were precise and direct and that fires started at the attacked sites. [ 2 ]
- RBC reports the Houthi confirmation of a strike on an Aramco facility in Riyadh. [ 3 ]
- Interfax, citing Al Jazeera, reports the claim of strikes on a large oil facility near Riyadh, Saree's stated motive and his figure of about 60 Saudi airstrikes, and says Saudi authorities and Aramco have not commented. [ 4 ]
- TASS reports Houthi claims of strikes on Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and Khurais. [ 5 ]
- RIA Novosti reports Houthi claims of strikes on sites in Riyadh and Khurais. [ 6 ]
- Interfax reports Saree saying the group successfully struck two Saudi Aramco sites with missiles and drones. [ 7 ]
- Vedomosti reports strikes on Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area, Saree's statement that both operations succeeded, and the Houthi threat of new strikes on Saudi military and oil facilities. [ 8 ]