Saudi Air Defence Intercepts Missiles Targeting Saudi Aramco Plants – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Saudi Arabia’s air defence forces last week shot down Houthi-launched rockets aimed at oil facilities that belong to Saudi Aramco petroleum company, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday, citing Saudi officials.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment on the matter, according to the newspaper.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthis issued a statement on Telegram, in which they took responsibility for a missile attack on oil facilities, as well as the Saudi military base close to the Yemeni border, two airports in the southwestern Saudi cities of Abha and Jazan, and other “sensitive targets deep into the Saudi territory”.

The movement, however, has not specified when the attack took place.

Drone attacks on Saudi Aramco sites in September 2019, for which Houthis also took responsibility, resulted in serious damages of facilities, fall in the country’s oil production and a spike in global oil prices.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi’s request since March 2015.

Despite the peace accord, signed in Stockholm in 2018, the tensions have significantly escalated in recent months.

Sourse: sputniknews.com