Houthis claim attack on Saudi oil refinery, defense ministry

Yemen's Houthis said they targeted Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery, as well as the defense ministry in Riyadh on Tuesday, as blasts shook the capital of the world's top crude exporter.

Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest economy, has suffered weeks of strikes from the Iran-backed Houthis against oil and civilian sites including Riyadh's international airport.

"Our armed forces targeted the Ministry of Defense in the enemy Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile and the hit was direct," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.

AFP correspondents in Riyadh had heard explosions earlier in the day. Authorities said they intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles launched towards the city.

A text message alert had warned Riyadh residents to seek shelter as blasts shook office windows in the city center.

Saree also said the Houthis "were able to target the Ras Tanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile", adding the strike caused "massive fires".

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis earlier said it had shot down three missiles fired by the group towards the Eastern Province.

A resident in the city of Al Khobar, south of the Ras Tanura complex, told AFP he heard explosions around dawn and received a text message alert.

"We got the alert on the mobile and then heard a very loud bang," the resident said.

Maritime security agency Vanguard said a fire was reported in the Ras Tanura area in the early hours of Tuesday after an attack.

"The fire has reportedly been contained, while the extent of damage and any impact on oil-loading operations remain unclear at current," Vanguard said.

The Ras Tanura facility along Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast is home to one of the largest refineries in the Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom's energy sector.

The complex has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day. It has been repeatedly targeted by strikes blamed on Iran, including a drone attack in early March that forced a partial shutdown of the refinery.

Later on Tuesday, the Houthis said they had also launched ballistic missiles at two military transport aircraft in southern Saudi Arabia.

Saree said the group targeted the aircraft "with ballistic missiles, one at Najran airport and the other at (King) Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait".

He also added the group had targeted the southern airport of Abha with a drone.

- Egypt 'declared war' -

Earlier, a Houthi official said the Egyptian parliament's decision to authorize defensive military support for Saudi Arabia amounted to a declaration of war.

Parliament authorized the measure on Monday, following a request from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"It is truly remarkable that while these people go to discuss what they call 'peace in the region', Egypt and its parliament declare support for the so-called defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in doing so, declare war against the Republic of Yemen," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, in a Telegram post.

It was not clear exactly what support was on offer from Egypt, which has the Arab world's largest military.

Al-Houthi's statement also pointed to Monday's visit to Tehran by the Saudi defense minister, Pakistan's army chief and Turkey's intelligence chief, in a bid to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East war.

Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad recently signed a NATO-style defense pact in Mecca, pledging to consider an attack on one country as an attack on all three.

Turkey and Pakistan have not announced any strikes on the Houthis during the group's weeks of attacks on Saudi Arabia.

- 'Not afraid of any alliance' -

Al-Houthi said the group was "not afraid of any alliance that may be formed".

Yemen's largely dormant conflict reignited in July, further destabilizing the region months into the war between the United States and Iran.

The Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing swathes of Red Sea coastline in a major offensive in September.

The Houthis have in turn reported frequent Saudi strikes targeting areas under their control.