Yemen's Houthis say drone attack hits Saudi Aramco in Riyadh

Group's spokesperson says operations against Saudi Arabia will continue as long as aggression' against Yemen continues

DUBAI:

Yemen’s Houthi group said on Friday it hit a facility belonging to the state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco in Riyadh, in an attack comprising six drones.

Yahya Sarea, a spokesman for the Iran-aligned group’s military did not give further details about the targets he said were hit.

Sarea said operations against Saudi Arabia will continue and escalate as long as Saudi “aggression” against Yemen continues.

Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against Houthi forces, which ousted the internationally recognised Yemeni government from power in Sanaa in late 2014.

The Houthis have stepped up attacks into Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter, in recent weeks.

On March 7, the coalition said a barrage of drones and missiles had been intercepted en route to targets including an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura, the site of a refinery and the world’s biggest offshore oil-loading facility. A residential compound in Dhahran used by Saudi Aramco was also targeted.

Sarea warned “foreign companies and citizens” to avoid military sites and key infrastructure.

There was no immediate confirmation of an incident from Saudi authorities. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.