Riyadh: The Arab coalition in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, announced that Iran-backed Houthi militia attacked a Saudi Aramco oil facility setting off a huge fire visible from Jeddah’s Formula 1 track as part of a series of attacks on Friday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Images and Videos from the spot circulating showed a raging fire and large smoke clouds near the Formula 1 track, where several drivers took part in free practice.
The Iran-backed Houthis have targeted two tanks belonging to Aramco facility in Jeddah, the coalition confirmed.
Brig Gen Turki Al Maliki, the Saudi-led coalition spokesman, said the Aramco oil distribution plant was hit at 5.25 pm local time which led to a fire at the site. The fire was later brought under control by a civil defence team with no casualties reported.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy confirmed that the oil distribution plant in Jeddah, as well as the Al Mukhtara station in Jazan, were hit by a projected missile.
The coalition confirmed material damage to some civilian vehicles and residential homes and shops in Dhahran Al Janoub as a result of the attacks.
The coalition said forces had shot down the projectiles, they caused a small fire at an electricity distribution facility in the Jazan town of Samtah. There was also flooding around the national water company in Dhahran Al Janoub after the site was hit.
The Joint Forces Command of the coalition published video footage documenting the interception and destruction of a number of booby-trapped drones launched by the Houthi militia, and said that they targeted civilian objects and economic facilities.
The coalition, said six drones were launched during the early hours of Friday, and three more were intercepted later in the day prior to reports from Jizan and Dhahran, the South.
Houthi statement
In turn, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that their forces carried out the “third operation to break the siege” in response to “the continuation of the siege and the inauguration of the eighth year of steadfastness.”
He revealed the targeting of “Aramco’s facilities in Jeddah and vital facilities in Riyadh with a batch of winged missiles,” in addition to targeting “Ras Tanura refinery and Rabigh oil refinery with large numbers of drones.”
The Houthis claimed a total of 16 attacks on several targets.
On March 19, Houthi attack targeted a water desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq, an Aramco facility in Jizan in the south of the country, a gas station in Khamis Mushait, and a power station in Dhahran al Janub.
The militia used Iranian cruise missiles to target an Aramco distribution station in Jizan, as well as to target a water desalination plant in Al-Shaqiq. He also confirmed that the Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile that was launched to target Jazan.
On March 10, the kingdom’s oil refinery was attacked by drone, causing a small fire that did not cause injuries or affect supplies.
In January 2022, one of the biggest attacks on UAE soil ignited a fire at Abu Dhabi’s main international airport and set fuel tanker trucks ablaze in a nearby industrial area.
Houthi rebels often target airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, against the backdrop of the kingdom’s leadership of the military coalition against them.
Since 2015, Yemen has been witnessing an ongoing war between government forces backed by the Arab coalition and the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which has controlled governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.
