An administrative building belonging to state oil giant Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was damaged by falling debris following an attempted attack on Sunday, with no injuries or fatalities reported, the kingdom’s Energy Ministry said.
A Reuters witness saw blown-out windows across several floors of the Aramco Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the capital’s King Abdullah Financial District.
The incident, which the ministry said caused limited damage, came after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis towards Riyadh.
Aramco was not immediately available for comment, and there was no immediate statement from the Houthis.
Multiple loud booms were heard in Riyadh earlier on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, shortly after Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert of a potential threat in the region. Authorities later announced that the danger had passed.
The Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Houthis subsequently said it had intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles in Riyadh and the kingdom’s southern region.
The Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities since fighting resumed in July and became another front in the wider Middle East war reignited following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February.
Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Alerts in oil-rich eastern province
Earlier on Sunday, Saudi Civil Defense issued and later lifted warnings in several areas of the oil-rich Eastern Province, including Dhahran, home to the headquarters of state oil giant Saudi Aramco.
The Eastern Province holds most of the kingdom’s oil and gas reserves. Saudi Aramco’s headquarters suffered extensive damage in an attack in October.
An attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Oct. 10 killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, according to Saudi authorities.
The renewed hostilities have shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely halted fighting between the two sides.
Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab states into Yemen in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa.
The latest escalation comes a day after Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa. Saudi authorities said they were investigating.
