Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed a ballistic missile and drone strike on an oil facility near Riyadh on Saturday, prompting a dismissal from the Saudi-led coalition. The cross-border attack follows renewed fighting in Yemen that intensified after a fragile 2022 truce collapsed in July.
Flames and smoke rose on Saturday afternoon from an Aramco facility near the Saudi capital, an eyewitness and an AFP journalist reported. The development followed a series of intense aerial bombardments in Yemen, with the Houthis accusing Saudi forces of launching dozens of strikes on Sanaa and other provinces. According to Houthi channels, Saudi warplanes hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, while the Houthis asserted that Riyadh had launched 94 strikes against areas under their control within a 24-hour period. Witnesses in the Yemeni capital reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles at the city. The Houthis stated that the escalation came in direct retaliation for what they described as 50 Saudi-led coalition air and missile strikes across Yemen over a 12-hour window.
Houthi Claims and Saudi-Led Coalition Denials Over Riyadh Attack
Late on Saturday, the Houthi military announced that the armed group had targeted an oil facility in Riyadh using ballistic missiles and drones, stating the assault caused fires at the targeted sites. Devdiscourse reported that the group also claimed attacks on Aramco sites in Khurais in response to dozens of coalition airstrikes in Yemen over a 12-hour window. Additional reports noted that a large fire and a plume of black smoke were visible near the Aramco facility in Riyadh on October 3, accompanied by online video footage capturing massive smoke plumes rising from the targeted unit. Saudi state media reported separately that ballistic missiles fired toward southwestern Saudi Arabia were intercepted on Friday, while Saudi authorities also noted that a Houthi projectile damaged a school in the city of Najran near the Yemen border.
The Saudi-led coalition swiftly dismissed the claims. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki described the statements as misleading, asserting that the Houthis are attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and growing public anger against them.
Al-Maliki added that the group’s ties to external agendas have brought chaos and devastation to Yemen, noting that battlefield pressures in Taiz drive them toward illusory victories. Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the reported incidents.
Intensified Fighting Across Sanaa, Taiz, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait
The cross-border strike arrived amid a sharp escalation in military operations on multiple fronts. Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi enemy aircraft struck Sanaa with 26 strikes. Fighting in recent days has centered heavily on Taiz.
On the opposing side, forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government reported executing extensive operations. Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili stated that government-aligned forces executed 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi military capabilities on Saturday alone. Brigadier General Majid Abdullah Al-Nuzaili later reported that these actions resulted in neutralising 260 elements of the militia using aircraft, drones, artillery, missiles, and snipers, while initial government estimates cited by Aljazeera placed the death toll among Houthi fighters at least at 700.
The coalition also carried out 97 precise targeting operations against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis. This renewed phase of open conflict follows a lightning offensive in mid-September during which the Houthis seized the port city of Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital shipping corridor connecting the Red Sea to global energy markets.
Humanitarian Impact and Regional Security Concerns
The escalation has compounded an already severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Fighting since the collapse of the 2022 truce has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
International anxieties have mounted over the security of regional energy infrastructure and strategic waterways.
