Yemenupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 29 July 2014Houthis Claim Strikes Damage Aramco Building in Riyadh’s Financial District
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Houthis claim attack damaged Aramco Tower in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District. Saudi energy ministry: building damaged by falling debris after an attempted attack; no casualties.
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Aramco Tower Hit
Houthi fighters claimed responsibility for strikes on Riyadh’s business district on Sunday, and witnesses said an Aramco tower in the King Abdullah Financial District was damaged. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said an administrative building belonging to Aramco was the target of an “attempted attack,” adding that “debris fell, causing minor damage to the building, with no injuries or deaths.” The Saudi-led coalition said air defense systems intercepted Houthi missiles over Riyadh in the early hours of Sunday, and the coalition also said it destroyed several ballistic missile launchers in Saada and Sanaa.
The BBC reported that the Saudi energy ministry said the tower suffered only “minor damage” and no one had been killed or injured, while BBC Verify footage showed more extensive damage to the building. The Houthis said they were retaliating for repeated coalition attacks in Yemen that they said killed at least 63 people Friday and Saturday.
Missiles, Intercepts, Claims
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said the damage came from “falling shrapnel,” and Saudi state media reported there were no casualties. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed several missiles, and Major-General Turki al-Maliki said it also intercepted two missiles aimed at Riyadh and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s targets included the financial district in Riyadh, King Khalid International Airport, Aramco’s oil storage facilities, and the city of Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis said they carried out four operations using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, targeting sites including the airport, Aramco’s oil storage facilities and the Saudi capital’s financial center. The BBC said the Houthis also claimed Riyadh’s airport and Aramco oil storage facilities were targeted in separate strikes, while Saudi Arabia said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed several missiles.
Yemen Escalation and Fallout
The attack on Riyadh came as fighting in Yemen intensified, with the Houthis claiming they targeted “concentrations of Saudi troops” in Jawf, Marib and Lahj and reporting “numerous dead and wounded.” The Houthi Health Ministry said Saturday that 33 people, including eight women and 13 children, were killed in a coalition airstrike on a village east of Sanaa, and the previous day at least 30 people died in a bombing of a market in Taiz. The BBC said the United Nations reported more than 1,600 people had been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed, after an informal ceasefire unraveled in July.
Saudi Arabia sought defensive and military assistance from allies while continuing diplomacy, and the IDNFinancials report said Riyadh met Iranian officials in Tehran with senior officials from Turkey and Pakistan to discuss new security arrangements without foreign military involvement. Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the Houthi attacks on Riyadh and announced “full support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in facing the threats to its security, sovereignty, and infrastructure,” according to SANA.