Houthis Claim Attack on Aramco Facility in Riyadh Amid Intensifying Yemen Conflict

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on an Aramco facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as fighting escalates between the Iran-aligned group and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated on X that the group executed a "military operation with ballistic missiles and drones" targeting Aramco, asserting that the strikes were "precise and direct" and resulted in fires at the site. A large plume of smoke was reported near the Aramco facility on Saturday. In response, Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, described the Houthi claims as "misleading." On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition announced it conducted 97 "precise targeting operations" against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis, utilizing warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and snipers. Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, spokesman for Yemen’s government forces, reported that these attacks targeted "at least 260 Houthi fighters and destroyed or disabled 44 military vehicles." Previously, the Houthis had claimed attacks on Aramco facilities in Yanbu, with Saudi Arabia stating it intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu without any damage reported to Aramco sites. Earlier this week, the coalition reported a Houthi attack on a power station in Medina. The conflict has intensified following the collapse of a truce in July 2022, with the Houthis seizing the port city of Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait in mid-September. The ongoing fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands since its resurgence, with Yemen in a state of war since the Houthis took control of Sanaa in 2014, leading to the Yemeni government's retreat to Aden.