Houthis Claim Strike on Saudi Oil Facility Near Riyadh

RIYADH: (News Desk) – Yemen’s Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital Riyadh, with an AFP journalist reporting flames and smoke rising from an Aramco site.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said late Saturday that the group targeted an oil facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, claiming the attacks caused fires at the sites.

Saudi authorities had not immediately commented on the Houthi claim. An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing firefighters battling a blaze at an Aramco refinery south of Riyadh, while ambulances and police vehicles were deployed around the facility.

The attack came after Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television reported that Saudi aircraft had carried out 26 strikes on Sanaa. Two correspondents in the Yemeni capital said they heard several loud explosions and saw warplanes launching missiles.

Al-Masirah also reported Saudi strikes against telecommunications infrastructure in Saada province, a major Houthi stronghold in northwestern Yemen.

The latest escalation follows renewed fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia after several years of relative calm. The conflict intensified after Iran sent a plane carrying a Houthi delegation to Sanaa without obtaining Saudi authorisation, prompting Riyadh to strike Sanaa airport.

The Houthis subsequently launched attacks against Saudi territory and have since claimed strikes on several Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure in and around Riyadh. The group has also announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

The renewed hostilities have further worsened Yemen’s already severe humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme warned that around three-quarters of the country’s population was unable to meet basic food needs.

Battle for Taiz

Fighting has also intensified around Taiz, where dozens of combatants were reportedly killed on Friday. The Houthis said 55 of their fighters had died, while government sources told AFP that 26 troops were killed.

The battle is being fought across several fronts, including highland positions overlooking coastal areas recently captured by the Houthis. Despite gaining significant territory, the group has not taken control of Taiz city, Yemen’s third-largest urban centre after Sanaa and Aden.

The Houthis also claimed that Saudi Arabia carried out 94 strikes against areas under their control within a 24-hour period. Saudi authorities, meanwhile, said a Houthi projectile damaged a school in Najran near the Yemeni border.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly sought US assistance amid the escalating conflict. However, US President Donald Trump has so far declined the request.

US media outlet Axios reported that senior Trump administration officials met on Friday to discuss the Yemen situation as well as the Iran conflict, citing three US officials. The meeting was not publicly announced.