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Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles
Yemen’s Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security, Reuters reported.
The Saudi energy ministry said there were no casualties or loss of property from the attacks.
The defence ministry said it intercepted an armed drone coming from the sea prior to hitting its target at an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura, site of a refinery and the world’s biggest offshore oil loading facility.
Reuters reported shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near a residential compound in Dhahran used by state-controlled Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, the ministries said.
The sites are located on the Gulf coast across from Iran and near Iraq and Bahrain.
Yemen lies thousands of kms southwest on the Gulf of Aden.
Announcing the attacks, the Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led coalition for six years, also said they attacked military targets in the Saudi cities of Dammam, Asir and Jazan, Reuters reported.
“Such acts of sabotage do not only target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also the security and stability of energy supplies to the world, and therefore, the global economy,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement on state media.
The Saudi-led coalition earlier said it intercepted 12 armed drones aimed at “civilian targets” without specifying a location as well as two ballistic missiles fired towards Jazan.
The Eastern Province is home to most of Aramco’s production and export facilities. In 2019, Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, was shaken by a big missile and drone attack on oil installations just a few km from the facilities hit on Sunday, which Riyadh blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denied.
That attack, which was claimed by the Houthis but which Riyadh said did not originate from Yemen, forced Saudi Arabia to temporarily shut more than half of its crude output, causing a huge price spike.
Reuters reported Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Sunday that the group had fired 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles in a “wide operation in the heart of Saudi Arabia”.
The Houthis recently stepped up cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia at a time when the United States and the United Nations are pushing for a ceasefire to revive stalled political negotiations to end the war.
Pakistan, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have expressed with Afghanistan after flash floods killed more than 300 people and destroyed hundreds of homes in northern Baghlan province.
“The Government and the people of Pakistan express their heartfelt condolences on the tragic loss of life and widespread damage to property caused by heavy rains and flash floods in several provinces of Afghanistan,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan during this difficult time.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry said: “The State of Qatar expresses its full solidarity with Afghanistan in face of the destruction caused by massive floods hitting the Baghlan province north of the country, which resulted in deaths and injuries.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses the State of Qatar’s firm support to Afghanistan and its brotherly people, and voiced its complete readiness to cooperate with the relevant authorities in Afghanistan to provide all means to help overcome crises,” it added.
UAE’s Foreign Ministry also expressed “its sincere condolences and sympathy with the friendly people of Afghanistan, and to the families of the victims, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expresses his solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.
“The United Nations and its partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance,” he said.
The Japanese ambassador in Kabul, Takayoshi Kuromiya, met Saturday with Sader Azam Osmani, the Deputy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, the meeting discussed Japan’s cooperation in these areas.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) held Saturday an emergency meeting in Kabul attended by the humanitarian aid coordinator of the International Organization for Migration to instantly address the needs of recent flood victims in Baghlan province.
The ministry quoted Abdul Rahman Rahmani, head of the assistance coordination of the ministry, as saying that the goal of the meeting was to provide emergency assistance to flood victims and how to consider first aid.
According to reports, intense floods in Baghlan’s many districts have left hundreds of dead and injured.
The ministry stated that hundreds of houses have been destroyed and people are living in open space in the mountains.
Meanwhile, the ministry added that the figures are not yet final and the process of rescue operations is still ongoing with the cooperation of health teams.
At the meeting, Mohammad Omar Hashemi, the humanitarian aid coordinator of the International Organization for Migration, also assured that the organization is ready to provide urgent aid to the victims.
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