Saudi Arabia foils barrage of missile and drone attacks by Huthi rebels

Yemeni rebels target Aramco oi company, LNG plant, water desalination plant: gas station

By: News Desk
Published: 09:05 AM, 20 Mar, 2022
Saudi Arabia foils barrage of missile and drone attacks by Huthi rebels
Caption: A combination of pictures showed the damage caused by the missile and drone attacks.
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Yemen's Huthi militia launched a combination of missile and drone attacks on various targets in southern and western Saudi Arabia on Saturday, all of which were stopped by air defences of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, state media reported early Sunday.

Targeted in the “a hostile attempt” were a water desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq, a facility run by oil company Aramco in Jazan, a power station in the southern Dhahran al Janub city, a gas station in the city of Khamis Mushayt, and an Aramco plant in Yanbu, coalition statements carried by state media said.

Huthi rebels launched multiple attacks into southern Saudi Arabia, including one on a facility run by oil company Aramco in Jizan, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen said in a statement.

Quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition said that four drones had been launched into the region, which is regularly targeted by Huthi drone and missile attacks. 

There was no loss of life, it said. 

As well as the Aramco facility, the rebels also hit a desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq. 

In later statements, the coalition announced that the Dhahran Al-Janoub power station near Jizan had also been attacked -- with the SPA posting photos and a video clip showing firefighters tackling a blaze at the site.

The fourth target was a gas station in Khamis Mushait. 

The drones were intercepted and destroyed near Yemen after the attacks, with a ballistic missile fired towards the city of Jazan also stopped, the coalition said.

The coalition also foiled an attack on an Aramco Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Yanbu, an industrial city along Red Sea coast of western Saudi Arabia, al-Ekhbariya also reported.

“We are following the launch of hostile cross-border attacks from Sanaa International Airport,” it said.

The latest round of attacks comes after an oil refinery in the Saudi capital Riyadh was targeted on March 10 by a drone, an operation claimed by the Huthis.

Earlier this week, the Huthis rejected an invitation from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to attend talks on the Yemen conflict, to be held in Riyadh from March 29.

Video footage and images posted on Twitter by the SPA showed damage to a building and cars at a facility in Khamis Mushayt.

The coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015 said the latest Huthi escalation by targeting economic and civil facilities was a response to a Gulf call for talks.

Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government, which has been engaged in a bloody conflict against the Huthis since mid-2014.

The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, directly or indirectly, and displaced millions, in what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday, the UN voiced disappointment after a donors' conference raised $1.3 billion, far short of the $4.27 billion target.

Huthi rebels often target airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil exporters, against the backdrop of the kingdom's leadership of the military coalition against them.

This latest attack comes as Aramco prepares to announce its 2021 results on Sunday.

Global oil markets are in a state of disarray over the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the effect it will have on energy supplies.

Categories : World

News Desk

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