(Photo courtesy of Anadolu)
ISTANBUL — Yemen’s Houthi group claimed early Monday, October 26, that it launched missile and drone attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and crude oil pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement posted on social media platform X that the group fired a ballistic missile toward the airport in the Saudi capital.
Saree also claimed that Houthi forces deployed drones to strike pumping stations along the East-West crude oil pipeline, a major energy transportation route in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense Directorate earlier reported that its early warning system had issued a danger alert for Riyadh following the reported missile threat.
Meanwhile, Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki confirmed that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh had been intercepted.
There was no immediate confirmation of damage or casualties from the reported attacks on the airport and oil facilities.
The East-West Pipeline, operated by state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco, stretches approximately 1,200 kilometers from the Abqaiq area in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
The pipeline transports crude oil from production and processing facilities in the country’s eastern region to refineries and export terminals along the Red Sea coast.
It serves as a strategic alternative to oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Saudi Arabia to transport crude oil to international markets through its western ports.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil conflict since September 2014, when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa and several other provinces.
A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has intensified in recent months, with the group launching missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia while accusing the kingdom of carrying out military operations against its forces.
