Houthis fire barrage of missiles at KSA

RIYADH:

Loud booms were heard on Tuesday night near the headquarters of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, the world's largest and the backbone of the kingdom's economy, in Dhahran, six sources told Reuters, amid an escalating war between Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition.

There was no official comment from the company, Saudi Aramco. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the Aramco headquarters had been struck, though it was unclear if the building had been hit directly or by falling debris.

One source said the Aramco headquarters was on fire. An evacuation order for the building had been issued, four sources said.

The Saudi-led coalition said fragments of a missile that it had intercepted and destroyed in Dhahran had fallen on a residential area without providing further details.

Authorities also reported drones and missiles were intercepted and destroyed in the capital, Riyadh, and the country's southern region.

The Houthis earlier said Saudi Arabia was attacking the Yemeni capital Sanaa and a Saudi-led coalition warned civilians to stay away from an oil depot on the city's outskirts.

Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that the Saudi-led coalition had targeted the Yemen Petroleum Company's Sabah central station, a fuel depot on the outskirts of Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia carried out new airstrikes Tuesday on the Houthi rebel-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the Houthis said, after the Saudi-led coalition warned civilians to stay away from an oil depot on the city outskirts, part of a rapidly escalating war between the sides.

Witnesses in Sanaa reported hearing explosions, and the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel said "Saudi aggression targets the oil company in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa."

Footage posted to social media showed a large oil fire burning in al-Subaha, just outside the capital. Other footage showed the aftermath of several smaller strikes within Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition confirmed later Tuesday it had targeted a Yemeni oil company facility in Sanaa and two sites in other provinces, hours after urging civilians to evacuate the area of the strike in the Houthi-held capital.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X that the facilities, including those in Saada and Dhamar provinces in western Yemen, were used to "supply the war effort" by the Houthis to "threaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and waterways."

The strikes came as Saudi Arabia was reportedly scrambling to determine how its air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, including an attack on Riyadh's international airport on Saturday that killed at least 13 people and wounded over 300.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Tuesday that it intercepted and destroyed six missiles and drones launched by the Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced in separate posts on the US social media company X that forces intercepted one missile heading toward Haradh and another toward Dhahran in the eastern kingdom.

Earlier, the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed three drones north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense issued a warning earlier Tuesday of "potential danger" in the Eastern Province and Riyadh before announcing minutes later that the danger had passed.