Houthis Claim Drone Strike on Saudi Refinery as Fire Extinguished
Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Sunday they had struck an oil facility on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, hours after Saudi authorities reported bringing a fire at the site under control. The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the group had targeted the Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone, describing the strike as precise.
Saree said the attack was launched in response to what he called incursions by Saudi drones into northwest Yemen. The Saudi energy ministry, without mentioning any attack, said civil response teams had extinguished a fire that broke out at dawn at one of the facilities of the Aramco refinery in Jazan. It said no injuries were reported.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with a United Nations-brokered truce in Yemen's civil war appearing to have collapsed last month. Saudi Arabia entered the conflict more than a decade ago on the side of the internationally recognised government, while the Houthis control vast areas, including the capital Sanaa and territory near the Saudi border.
Separately, two military sources aligned with the Aden-based government said the Houthis attacked the city of Mokha on Yemen's Red Sea coast with missiles and drones. Residents confirmed hearing blasts, with one reporting six consecutive explosions in the port area. One of the sources said air defences had engaged the incoming projectiles.
The Houthis have previously threatened Saudi oil infrastructure. In July, they announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and struck Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The Jazan refinery was also targeted in an earlier attack that month.
The developments parallel ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been involved in a standoff with the United States. That dispute has become a central flashpoint amid efforts to end a wider Middle East conflict that began in February, according to reports.
Saudi Arabia has not officially attributed the fire at Jazan to hostile action, and the cause remains unknown. The energy ministry's statement focused only on the response, saying industrial security firefighting teams dealt with the blaze without casualties.
The situation underscores the fragility of the region's security arrangements and the potential for renewed escalation in Yemen, where years of conflict have caused widespread humanitarian suffering. International observers have called for all parties to exercise restraint and return to political dialogue.
