Houthis attack Aramco facilities in Riyadh after strike on their bases

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched a counterattack against a strike carried out by Yemeni government forces, which are supported by Saudi Arabia.

Clashes between the Houthis and the coalition made up of Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government have continued without signs of abating since July, when the conflict opened a new front in the Middle East war.

The movement’s military spokesman, Yahya Sari, said the Houthis had used a large number of ballistic missiles and drones to strike the Saudi oil company Aramco in the kingdom’s capital.

“The Houthi forces launched a large-scale military operation using numerous ballistic missiles and drones to strike Aramco in the capital of the Saudi enemy,” Sari said.

An AFP reporter said yesterday that he had seen flames and clouds of smoke rising from an Aramco facility south of Riyadh.

The Houthi movement has previously claimed to have struck facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant: in September, in the port city of Yanbu, the kingdom’s main oil terminal, and in August, in southern Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Al Masirah television, which is considered close to the Houthis, reported that “enemy aircraft” had carried out 26 strikes on Sanaa during the day.

Yemeni government forces, through Houthi media outlets, described the bombings as “catastrophic attacks against vital targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist militia in Sanaa and Saada.”

In Sanaa, an AFP correspondent heard at least five explosions in different parts of the city, while another witnessed two fighter jets launching missiles.

Al Masirah also reported that Saudi-led airstrikes had targeted “the telecommunications network in Saada province,” the Houthis’ stronghold in northern Yemen.