DUBAI (Reuters) – An airstrike on an oil refinery in the Saudi capital Riyadh caused a fire that went unchecked, the energy ministry said after Yemeni group Houthi said it was leading the site with six drones.
The refinery is operated by the state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco. The attack, which occurred at 6:05 a.m. Saudi time (0305 GMT), did not cause any injuries or deaths, and did not disrupt the supply of oil or oil products, the energy ministry said. .
The Houthis said earlier in the day that they had hit an Aramco facility in Riyadh, without specifying the targets they said were hit.
“Our armed forces have carried out an operation this morning … with six drones aimed at the Aramco company in the capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh,” said Yahya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesman.
The Ministry of Energy did not say who had dropped the drones or from where.
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, but said it would do so “as soon as possible.”
Iran-aligned houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, in recent weeks.
Sarea said operations against Saudi Arabia will continue and increase as the Saudi “aggression” against Yemen continues.
The Saudi energy ministry said this and other attacks had targeted security and stability of the global energy supply, not just Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against Houthi forces, which ousted the internationally recognized Yemeni government from power in Sanaa in late 2014.
Riyadh says it intercepts most drones and missiles that houthis say they throw at airports, air bases and energy infrastructure, but some do damage.
On March 7, the coalition said it had intercepted a drone and missile reservoir en route to targets, including an oil storage yard in Ras Tanura, the site of a refinery and the installation of largest oil cargo in the world. He also went to a residential complex in Dhahran used by Saudi Aramco.
Sarea warned “foreign companies and citizens” to avoid key military sites and infrastructure.
In renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, the United Nations and the United States have urged the Houthis, who are also pushing for an offensive against the government city of Marib, Yemen, to resort to negotiations rather than military escalation. .
Written by Lisa Barrington; Edited by Mark Heinrich and Susan Fenton