Blasts heard in Riyadh as Houthis claim strikes
Yemen’s rebel group Houthis on Tuesday claimed attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh’s airport and financial hub, further disrupting life in the region’s economic powerhouse.
In the early hours of the morning, AFP journalists heard blasts, while residents received a mobile-phone alert urging them to shelter from an “aerial threat”.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it shot down a ballistic missile launched at the city by the group.
The incident came two days after the Houthis struck a psychological blow by hitting a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Aramco in Riyadh’s gleaming financial district.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks had also targeted pumping stations along the East-West pipeline in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in the eastern Abqaiq region, as well as troops in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has faced near-daily Houthi strikes since early October, including deadly attacks that closed Riyadh airport for two weeks.
A truce in Yemen’s long-running war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government unravelled in July.
Riyadh’s schoolchildren, after two days back in the classroom, returned to online learning on Tuesday “as part of the ongoing precautionary measures”, according to a message to parents on Monday evening.
On Monday, Saudi authorities said the East-West oil pipeline to the Red Sea was attacked in the Madinah region.
Saree labelled the Saudi claims “a blatant lie”, insisting the attack “targeted the East-West pipeline in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, not in Madinah”.
The export route has become vital for Saudi oil exports since Iran began hampering transit in the Strait of Hormuz, gateway to the energy-rich Gulf, in response to US-Israeli strikes.
Visible damage
The Houthi attacks have cast a shadow over attempts to overhaul the oil-reliant Saudi economy by attracting foreign investment and encouraging tourism and leisure spending.
Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is one of the most visible manifestations of the drive, with towering glass skyscrapers, high-end retail outlets and green spaces dotting the area.
Images released by Saudi Arabia’s official press agency on Tuesday showed Riyadh officials inspecting the distinctively designed Aramco Tower, with visible damage to several of its floors.
Saudi authorities had earlier said the building was hit by falling shrapnel after an “attempted attack”.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Aramco tankers, refineries, storage areas and the company’s headquarters in Dhahran, on eastern Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast.
In response, the coalition has been launching airstrikes against Houthi positions inside Yemen, with some attacks leaving dozens dead, according to the group.
On Tuesday, the Houthis’ news agency said Saudi warplanes carried out a series of strikes on the capital Sanaa and its outskirts, targeting a gas facility and a building belonging to the Yemeni state oil company.
One person was killed and three wounded in the attack on the gas facility, the Houthi health ministry said in a statement.
The coalition initially began fighting the Houthis in March 2015, months after the group seized Sanaa and forced out the government.