Houthis claim strike on strategic Saudi targets

RIYADH:

The Houthi militia claimed on Tuesday they struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery and the defence ministry in Riyadh with ballistic missiles, as explosions rocked the Saudi capital and the kingdom faced intensifying attacks on its energy infrastructure and military installations.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack on Ras Tanura, one of the kingdom's largest oil-processing facilities, had caused massive fires. Saudi authorities did not confirm the refinery had been hit, but maritime security agency Vanguard reported a fire in the area that was subsequently contained.

The refinery, located on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast, has a processing capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and is a key part of the kingdom's energy infrastructure. Its complex also includes an oil-loading terminal, making the area strategically important for Saudi crude exports.

Saudi Civil Defence said shrapnel from the interception of two Houthi ballistic missiles caused material damage in Riyadh. The Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed the missiles launched towards the capital, where residents received mobile alerts warning them to seek shelter.

AFP correspondents heard explosions in Riyadh, while a resident of Al Khobar, near Ras Tanura, said he received a mobile alert before hearing a loud bang around dawn. The extent of damage at the refinery and any impact on oil-loading operations remained unclear.

The Houthis also claimed to have targeted two military transport aircraft with ballistic missiles, one at Najran airport and another at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. They separately claimed a drone attack on Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

The latest strikes came amid weeks of escalating Houthi attacks against Saudi oil and civilian infrastructure, including Riyadh's international airport. The renewed fighting has disrupted regional oil supplies and raised fears of a wider conflict, eight months after the Iran war began.

The Houthis also said they had repelled an advance by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Government forces had earlier pushed the group out of coastal areas seized in September.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the movement's political bureau, accused Egypt of effectively declaring war on Yemen after its parliament authorised military support to defend Saudi Arabia. The escalation threatens to widen an already volatile regional confrontation.