Riyadh/Sanaa, October 4, 2026: Yemen’s Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital Riyadh, while an AFP journalist reported seeing flames and smoke rising from an Aramco facility south of the city.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said late Saturday that the group had targeted an oil facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, claiming the attacks caused fires at the sites.
The Saudi authorities have yet to publicly comment on the claim.
An AFP journalist reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze at an Aramco refinery south of Riyadh, while ambulances and police vehicles were deployed near the facility.
The attack came as the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out dozens of strikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi aircraft had carried out 26 strikes on Sanaa. Two correspondents in the city reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles.
The Houthis also reported missile strikes on telecommunications infrastructure in Yemen’s northwestern Saada governorate, a stronghold of the movement.
The latest escalation follows renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which controls much of the country’s south and east.
The conflict intensified after a fragile four-year truce broke down in July. The escalation followed a flight carrying a Houthi delegation to Sanaa that did not seek Saudi authorisation, according to the report.
Saudi Arabia subsequently carried out strikes on Sanaa airport, while the Houthis responded with attacks on Saudi territory, their first since 2022.
The Houthis have since launched an offensive, capturing coastal areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait and attacking Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure and Riyadh. They have also announced a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
The renewed fighting has further aggravated Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
The World Food Programme warned on Friday that around three-quarters of Yemen’s population was unable to meet its basic food needs.
Fighting has recently intensified around Taiz, where dozens of combatants were reportedly killed on Friday.
The Houthis said 55 of their fighters had been killed, while government sources cited by AFP put the number of government troops killed at 26.
The battle is being fought on several fronts, including highland areas overlooking coastal territory recently captured by the Houthis.
The Houthis have captured significant territory but have not taken control of Taiz city, Yemen’s third-largest city after Sanaa and Aden.
The group also claimed that Saudi Arabia had conducted 94 strikes on areas under its control over a 24-hour period on Friday.
Saudi authorities, meanwhile, said a Houthi projectile damaged a school in Najran, near the Yemeni border.
US media outlet Axios reported that senior Trump administration officials had met on Friday to discuss Yemen and the Iran conflict, citing three US officials. The meeting had not been officially announced.
