Riyadh, October 14,2026: Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities and other targets in Saudi Arabia, as explosions were heard across Riyadh and the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a missile fired towards the capital.
A Saudi energy ministry official said a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran had been struck, causing a limited fire but no casualties or fatalities. Dhahran is home to the oil giant’s headquarters and a large complex of office buildings and residential compounds.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had carried out what he described as a “high-quality military operation” targeting Aramco facilities in Dhahran, as well as Riyadh airport and a refinery in the Saudi capital.
He said the attacks involved ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, warning that further operations targeting Saudi airports and oil facilities would follow in the coming days.
Meanwhile, explosions rattled Riyadh as mobile phone alerts warned residents of an aerial threat and urged them to seek shelter. The alert was lifted a few minutes later.
According to AFP journalists, the latest barrage appeared to bring the attacks closer to the city centre. Witnesses also reported seeing air defence missiles streak across the night sky before explosions were heard.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had carried out strikes against oil facilities in western Yemen, claiming the sites were being used to support the rebels’ operations and their threats against Saudi Arabia, Yemen and regional shipping routes.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported an explosion, while Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television reported that an oil company had been targeted in what it described as Saudi aggression.
The coalition has supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since 2015. The prolonged conflict has contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
In Sanaa, residents rushed to fuel stations amid fears that the latest escalation could lead to shortages, AFP reported.
The latest attacks follow a strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday that reportedly killed 13 people, marking the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia since 2015.
The Saudi cabinet, in a meeting led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, vowed to protect the kingdom’s security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Several countries have issued travel advisories for Saudi Arabia. France on Tuesday urged its citizens to avoid the airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
Traffic in Riyadh was also noticeably lighter this week as schools shifted to remote learning and some companies introduced work-from-home arrangements, according to AFP journalists.
The renewed conflict has added to economic pressures on Saudi Arabia, which was already facing the impact of disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz amid the wider Middle East war that began in February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product was expected to contract by 3.3 per cent this year, amid broader regional economic fallout from the blockade of the strategic waterway.
The resumption of fighting in Yemen in July has further heightened security risks for the kingdom, while Houthi attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea have threatened an alternative route for Saudi oil exports.
