Yemen · 13 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Houthis Strike Riyadh and Yanbu Aramco With Ballistic Missiles, Cruise Missiles, Drones
Houthis attacked Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones, injuring 73. Drones from Iraq hit Saudi East-West pipeline; Saudi halted the pipeline as a precaution.
How much blame is attributed to Iraq vs Yemen-Houthi conflict.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: the pipeline was used to bypass Strait of Hormuz closures due to Iran.
Reuters was read line by line by the Watchdog: 3.6. See the score →
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ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
“Saudi Arabia says drones launched from Iraq have hit a major oil pipeline and led to its closure”Read the original ↗
ABC News
“The flare-up delivered a new jolt to a region already destabilized by nearly three years of wars and brings more uncertainty for the global economy.”Read the original ↗
One outlet assigns cross-border blame, while another emphasises broader economic impacts.
Riyadh and Yanbu strikes
The Houthis claimed they attacked “sensitive” sites in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu with “a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones,” as Yemen’s Houthis said their operations “ended in success and caused massive fires at the targeted locations.” Reuters reported that Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large plume of smoke were seen near the city’s main airport. Saudi Civil Defense issued mobile alerts overnight warning of potential danger around Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning, according to Reuters.
“The Yemeni armed forces carried out two strategic military operations with a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.”
The BBC reported that AFP said the smoke came from a fuel tank belonging to Aramco near King Khalid International Airport, with firefighters working to extinguish the fire and with cancellations and delays of flights. In Sana’a, the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group targeted Riyadh and Yanbu, while Reuters said the Houthis did not specify what they had targeted in Riyadh and noted there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the claims.
Competing claims and alerts
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued two alerts warning of potential danger in Riyadh and Al-Kharj early Saturday, with an all-clear issued after each warning, and one message received by residents said: “The area is under a hostile aerial threat.” The BBC said the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Turki Almaliki, said Saudi forces were able to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh early Saturday morning. In response to accusations, the Houthis’ military spokesman Yahya Sarei said in a press release that the Yemeni armed forces carried out two operations and that the first targeted “sensitive objectives in the enemy’s capital, Riyadh.”
Reuters reported that there was no immediate comment from the Saudi government’s media office in response to Reuters questions about the smoke and overnight alerts, and that there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the Houthis’ claims. The BBC also described disruptions at King Khalid International Airport, citing FlightRadar24’s “significant disruptions, including long delays and several cancellations,” before noting that AFP reported the smoke came from an Aramco fuel tank near the airport.
Yemen escalation and displacement
The BBC reported that renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced more than 112,000 people, and UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said monitors recorded 28 civilian deaths and 82 others injured since fighting escalated in August. The BBC said Dujarric added that the actual numbers could be “much higher” due to difficulty verifying the counts, and that the UN and its partners delivered emergency assistance to more than 11,000 displaced families between August 1 and September 16. Al-Jazirah Net said the anniversary of the Houthi takeover of Sanaa arrives amid renewed fighting after four years of relative calm, and it described how the Houthis began about three months ago to intensify against the government and against Saudi Arabia under the banner of ending what the group calls a “siege.”
Al-Jazirah Net also said the escalation ranges from threats to mutual air assaults, then expanded earlier this month to ground battles after the Houthis attacked areas under government control in Hodeidah and Taiz governorates. In parallel, Al-Jazirah Net said the government launched military operations to restore control over Al Bayda governorate and launched an offensive in Jaww governorate, while the city of Al Hazm remained under the Houthis since March 2020.