RIYADH(National Times)- Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, after Saudi officials reported a strike on a building in an area in Riyadh housing the energy giant\u2019s operations centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Powerful explosions meanwhile rattled the Saudi capital, as the coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted a missile fired by the group towards Riyadh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s top crude oil exporter, has in recent days come under sustained attack in a dramatic escalation in the war with the Houthis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has hit back with strikes against the group\u2019s stronghold in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which for years has been under their grip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yahya Saree, Houthi military spokesman, said their forces had conducted \u201ca high-quality military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran\u201d as well as strikes targeting Riyadh airport and a refinery in the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was carried out using a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones,\u201d he said, adding that \u201coperations toward Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, a Saudi energy ministry official said a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran was struck, resulting in a \u201climited fire\u201d but \u201cno casualties or fatalities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhahran is home to Aramco\u2019s headquarters, a vast complex comprising numerous buildings and residential compounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018We heard an explosion\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More blasts were heard on Wednesday, AFP journalists in Riyadh reported, as messages were received on phones warning of an \u201caerial threat\u201d and urging people to take shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The alert was lifted a few minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most strikes on Saudi Arabia have targeted infrastructure on the outskirts of the capital, but the barrages appear to be getting closer to the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the city\u2019s downtown, residents have been seen parking their cars to stop and look up at the sky, an AFP journalist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday night, the white plumes of air defence missiles could be seen streaking across the sky followed by explosions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While walking down a major avenue, a witness told AFP he \u201csaw a projectile cutting across the sky\u201d above a mall, saying it left \u201ca yellowish trail of light followed by a trail of smoke. Then, we heard an explosion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople were calm; no one was speaking. We were scared and all looking up at the sky,\u201d he added, requesting anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strikes on Yemen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saudi-led coalition meanwhile struck oil sites across western Yemen, with spokesman Turki Al-Malki claiming that the attacks targeted facilities used to supply the Houthis\u2019 effort to \u201cthreaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and waterways\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported an explosion, while a breaking news alert on the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel said \u201cSaudi aggression\u201d targeted an oil firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coalition has supported Yemen\u2019s government militarily against the Houthis since 2015 in a long-running civil war that has created a humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many civilians in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, fearing shortages, have rushed to queue in front of fuel stations, an AFP journalist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Renewed threats<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest escalation follows a strike on Riyadh\u2019s international airport on Saturday that left 13 people dead in the worst attack on the kingdom since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saudi cabinet vowed in a meeting led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that it \u201cwill not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait to be threatened\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens in Saudi Arabia, with France telling its nationals on Tuesday to avoid Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traffic in perennially gridlocked Riyadh was noticeably lighter this week as remote learning for all schools and work-from-home orders for some companies took effect, according to AFP journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia faces a major economic contraction this year, with GDP expected to shrink 3.3 per cent, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, predicting a regional drop over Iran\u2019s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kingdom was already facing headwinds from Iran\u2019s chokehold on Hormuz since the start of the Middle East war in February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the restart in July of Yemen\u2019s frozen war has further roiled the kingdom and brought the fight to its own soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Houthi attacks have also targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea \u2014 Saudi Arabia\u2019s alternative export route.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH(National Times)- Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, after Saudi officials reported a strike on a building in an area in Riyadh housing the energy giant\u2019s operations centre. Powerful explosions meanwhile rattled the Saudi capital, as the coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted a missile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n