Attack on Aramco building in Riyadh; 72 killed in air strikes in Yemen

An attack has hit the building of Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state oil company, in the capital Riyadh. Witnesses said several floors of the multi-storey Aramco Tower were damaged in the attack, but no one was hurt.

Earlier today, Sunday, the Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted a missile fired by Yemen's armed Houthi group in the air.

In recent months, the Houthis have been attacking Aramco's infrastructure almost regularly, targeting oil tankers, refineries, storage facilities and the company's headquarters.

The Aramco Tower is located in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) area of Riyadh. One witness told the news agency AFP that it was confirmed that the Aramco Tower in KAFD had been attacked. Two other witnesses confirmed seeing the attack and the damage to the building.

Another witness from the Aramco Tower area said he saw a shell or missile strike the building, though he could not be sure exactly what kind of weapon it was.

One witness said the building's window glass had shattered and the front part of the building was somewhat damaged.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said in a statement, however, that there had been an attempted attack on an administrative building of Aramco in Riyadh. The blast threw metal fragments that caused minor damage to the building. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Because of the series of attacks in Riyadh, educational institutions had been holding classes online for several weeks. The Saudi Education Ministry announced on Saturday night that in-person classes would resume. Within hours of that announcement, a new attack took place.

Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi military coalition, said in a post on social media today that Saudi air defences had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Houthi militias towards Riyadh.

The area of Riyadh where the attack took place is home to offices of major domestic and foreign institutions. The headquarters of the Saudi stock exchange is also in the area. There are residential buildings and a large metro station there as well, and huge numbers of office-goers pass through during the busy morning hours.

Those familiar with the matter believe that an attack aimed at this area will further intensify the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have claimed that at least 72 people were killed in Saudi air strikes across eight provinces of Yemen in 48 hours. A correspondent of the Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported from the scene yesterday that the Houthis claimed the Bani Hushaysh area, east of the capital Sanaa, was the main target. At least 33 people were killed and 39 injured there in Saudi air strikes, and 39 others were killed in other areas.

Abdul-Aziz al-Dailami, director of the Sehatuna Hospital in Sanaa, told the news agency Reuters: "We have received several injured people whose condition is extremely critical. They have injuries to their heads, chests and legs."

The doctor added: "One attack after another keeps coming. As soon as rescuers reach the scene, another attack hits. We have even lost some of our medical staff. They were killed in the attacks."

The United Nations has said that more than 1,600 people have been killed since fighting resumed in Yemen, and more than 300,000 people have been displaced.

In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis seized Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. A year later, the Saudi-led military coalition joined the war directly in support of the Yemeni government.

After years of fighting between the two sides, a ceasefire stopped the conflict in 2022. But the situation changed after the Iran war, and tit-for-tat attacks between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia have continued since last July.