Powerful explosions were reported in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, as the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi group said it had intercepted a missile fired towards the city.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, has faced a series of attacks in recent days, marking a significant escalation in its conflict with the Houthis. In response, Saudi-led coalition forces have launched strikes against Houthi strongholds in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which has remained under the group’s control for years.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had carried out what he described as a “high-quality military operation” targeting Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran, along with Riyadh airport and a refinery in the capital.
He said the attacks involved ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, warning that further operations against Saudi airports and oil facilities would follow in the coming days.
Earlier, a Saudi energy ministry official confirmed that a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran had been hit, causing a limited fire. No casualties or fatalities were reported.
Dhahran is home to Aramco’s headquarters, a large complex comprising multiple office buildings and residential compounds.
Further explosions were heard in Riyadh on Wednesday, according to journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP). Residents received mobile phone alerts warning of an aerial threat and advising them to seek shelter. The alert was lifted a few minutes later.
While previous attacks on Saudi Arabia have largely targeted infrastructure on the outskirts of the capital, recent barrages appear to have moved closer to central Riyadh.
Residents were seen stopping their vehicles and looking towards the sky as air defence systems responded to incoming threats.
On Tuesday night, white trails from air defence missiles were visible across the sky, followed by explosions.
A witness told AFP that a projectile had crossed the sky above a shopping mall, leaving a yellowish trail of light and smoke before an explosion was heard.
“People were calm; no one was speaking. We were scared and all looking up at the sky,” the witness said, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition carried out strikes against oil facilities in western Yemen. Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said the targets were being used to support Houthi operations that threatened Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and regional waterways.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported hearing an explosion, while the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television channel reported that an oil company had been targeted in what it described as “Saudi aggression”.
The coalition has supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since 2015. The prolonged conflict has devastated the country and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.
Fears of fuel shortages have also prompted residents in Houthi-controlled Sanaa to queue outside petrol stations, according to AFP journalists.
The latest escalation follows a reported attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday that killed 13 people, marking the deadliest assault on the kingdom since 2015.
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has vowed to protect the country’s security and ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Several countries have issued travel advisories for Saudi Arabia. France, on Tuesday, urged its citizens to avoid Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports.
Traffic in Riyadh has also declined noticeably this week, with schools shifting to remote learning and some companies introducing work-from-home arrangements, AFP journalists reported.
The escalating conflict is adding to Saudi Arabia’s economic challenges. The International Monetary Fund projected on Tuesday that the kingdom’s gross domestic product would contract by 3.3 per cent this year, amid wider regional economic disruption linked to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia had already been facing economic pressure following disruptions to shipping through the strategic waterway after the Middle East conflict began in February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
The resumption of fighting in Yemen in July has further intensified the pressure on the kingdom, bringing the conflict closer to its territory.
Houthi attacks have also targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea, an alternative export route used by Saudi Arabia to transport crude oil.
