Yemen's Huthis Claim Missile Strike on Saudi Aramco Plant

W460

Yemen's Huthi rebels claimed a missile strike Thursday on a plant of energy giant Saudi Aramco in the western Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah amid an escalation in cross-border attacks on the kingdom.

There was no immediate confirmation of an attack by the oil giant or the kingdom's authorities.

Huthi spokesman Yahya Saree on Twitter claimed the rebels hit an Aramco facility in Jeddah with a Quds-2 missile at dawn Thursday in retaliation for a six-year military campaign led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

The Iran-aligned rebels have struck Aramco facilities in the past, underscoring the vulnerability of Saudi Arabia's expensive oil infrastructure.

Last November, the rebels hit an Aramco plant in Jeddah with a Quds-2 missile, tearing a hole in an oil tank and triggering an explosion and fire, the company said.

The rebels' latest claim comes after the United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two Huthi commanders, blaming them for civilian deaths and denouncing their ties with Iran.

The rebels have escalated attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks, while they step up an offensive to seize the Saudi-backed government's last northern stronghold of Marib. 

On Saturday, loud explosions shook the capital Riyadh as the Saudi-led coalition said it thwarted a Huthi missile attack, which sent shrapnel raining down on civilian homes.

No casualties were reported but at least one civilian home was damaged, state-run Al-Ekhbariya television said.

Separately, the coalition said it intercepted six Huthi drones targeting the kingdom on Saturday, including the southern cities of Khamis Mushait and Jizan.

The Huthis claimed the missile and drone strikes and threatened more attacks on the kingdom.

Yemen's six-year-old civil war pits the Iran-backed rebels against an internationally recognised government backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.

The grinding conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, according to international organisations, sparking what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Comments 4
Thumb warrior 04 March 2021, 08:40

According to Biden the Democrat, the Huthis are not terrorists:)

Thumb i.report 04 March 2021, 16:36

The Democrats murdered a foreigner, Bin Laden, and so many innocent Afghanis without a trial.

Saudi Arabia eliminated a terrorist and spy from the Muslim Brotherhood from their own country and the USA is outraged ...

In my innocent teens, I used to back all the Democrats versus the evil Bush.... it turns out they’re worse.

Thumb enterprise 04 March 2021, 08:52

Notice how since Biden's arrival at the White House Iran has upped the anti. ISIS is resurfacing on demand; U.S bases are being attacked in Iraq, oil tankers are attacked, and attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified. Iran denies its involvement in any of this.....

Biden is no different than Obama... it does not bode well for the region.

Missing rabiosa 04 March 2021, 17:03

The Saudis should've asked Trump while he was still president to give the B-52s bombers a spin in the airspace over Yemen and carpet bomb these Huthis to smithereens and end this stupid "war" once and for all.