Information not confirmed by the Kingdom

Houthis claim missile attack on Saudi oil station

PHOTO/Oficina de Medios Hutí - Missiles and drones are displayed in an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated photo published by the Houthis Media Office on 9 July 2019

EFE

23 de noviembre de 2020 (13:11 h.)

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Yemeni Houthi forces fired a missile that struck a Saudi Aramco oil company distribution station in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah, a Houthi military spokesman said on Monday, although Riyadh did not confirm the attack in the first instance.

"With God's help and support, the missile force was able to target the Aramco distribution station in Jeddah with a winged missile, Quds 2" Shiite military spokesman Yehia Sarea twitted. "The injury was very accurate, and ambulances and firefighting vehicles rushed to the targeted place," he added.

The Saudi Arabian government has not so far reacted to this statement, nor has it reported any attack on its infrastructure or possible injuries or deaths.

This alleged aggression allegedly took place in the early hours of Monday morning, a few hours after the conclusion of a G20 telematics summit organised from Riyadh by Saudi Arabia, the group's current president, and while the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was in the country on an official visit.

Sarea warned citizens and foreign companies operating in Saudi Arabia not to go near Saudi oil installations. "The operations are continuing and that they should stay away from vital installations," the Houthi's military spokesman wrote.

This Iranian-backed group controls large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sana'a, after seizing it from the internationally recognised government between 2014 and 2015 and has since been facing a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia and forged in support of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi. Meanwhile, in this southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula, it is facing the Yemeni army, supported by the Arab coalition, which is launching continuous attacks with missiles and drones against neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Last September Houthis claimed to have attacked two prominent Aramco plants, causing 50 percent of Saudi oil production to be suspended, but Riyadh denied responsibility and pointed the finger at Iran.