Yemen's Houthis claim 'drone attack' on Saudi Aramco facility
Yemen's Houthis claim 'drone attack' on Saudi Aramco facility
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed that a drone attack was the reason for a fire at a Saudi Aramco plant on Wednesday. The oil giant has denied the claims.
2 min read
A fire at a Saudi Aramco facility in Riyadh was caused by a Houthi drone attack, the Yemen rebels claimed on Wednesday.
Houthi-run media channel al-Masirah said on Twitter that the rebels carried out a drone attack on the Riyadh plant, sparking a blaze.
"Our drone air forces have targeted the refinery of ARAMCO company in Riyadh," the channel tweeted.
"The operation by the drone air force is a strong start in a new stage of deterring the aggression," the tweet said, quoting a Houthi spokesperson, Reuters reported.
Saudi officials did not comment, but Aramco denied the Houthi claims and said there was only a limited blaze at a refinery caused by an "operational incident".
Moments before the tweet by Houthi media, Aramco reported its team were dealing with a small fire at storage containers at a Riyadh refinery.
Saudi Aramco added that there were no casualties caused
by the fire and activities at the site continued as normal.
The Houthis have fired dozens of rockets into Saudi Arabia. Most of them been intercepted by Saudi air defences or fallen without incident in the south of the kingdom.
In March, the Houthis fired missiles at the Saudi capital Riyadh, which caused shock in the kingdom.
Yemen has suffered huge human and material damage from a war which has pitted the Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis overran the capital Sanaa in March 2014, forcing the Yemen government to flee south and leading to intervention from a Saudi and UAE military force.
Air strikes from the Arab coalition are believed to have led to the majority of the 10,000 killed in the war.
Huge damage to infrastructure has also worsened the humanitarian situation in the country, with mass starvation and disease epidemics threatening to kill tens of thousands.
Houthi-run media channel al-Masirah said on Twitter that the rebels carried out a drone attack on the Riyadh plant, sparking a blaze.
"Our drone air forces have targeted the refinery of ARAMCO company in Riyadh," the channel tweeted.
"The operation by the drone air force is a strong start in a new stage of deterring the aggression," the tweet said, quoting a Houthi spokesperson, Reuters reported.
Saudi officials did not comment, but Aramco denied the Houthi claims and said there was only a limited blaze at a refinery caused by an "operational incident".
Moments before the tweet by Houthi media, Aramco reported its team were dealing with a small fire at storage containers at a Riyadh refinery.
Saudi Aramco added that there were no casualties caused
by the fire and activities at the site continued as normal.
The Houthis have fired dozens of rockets into Saudi Arabia. Most of them been intercepted by Saudi air defences or fallen without incident in the south of the kingdom.
In March, the Houthis fired missiles at the Saudi capital Riyadh, which caused shock in the kingdom.
Yemen has suffered huge human and material damage from a war which has pitted the Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis overran the capital Sanaa in March 2014, forcing the Yemen government to flee south and leading to intervention from a Saudi and UAE military force.
Air strikes from the Arab coalition are believed to have led to the majority of the 10,000 killed in the war.
Huge damage to infrastructure has also worsened the humanitarian situation in the country, with mass starvation and disease epidemics threatening to kill tens of thousands.
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