RIYADH: An Aramco building in Riyadh was targeted in an ‘attempted attack’, the Saudi energy ministry said on Sunday, with eyewitnesses telling AFP that the skyscraper sustained damage, after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels said it had intercepted missiles launched by the group.The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack. Aramco facilities and infrastructure have been repeatedly targeted by the rebels in Yemen in recent months, including tankers, refineries, storage areas and the company’s headquarters.
‘Aramco tower in KAFD has been targeted, that’s the sure thing,’ an eyewitness told AFP, referring to the King Abdullah Financial District. Two other witnesses confirmed seeing damage to the building.
Another eyewitness in the area said they had seen a projectile strike the building but were unsure what type of projectile it was.
The King Abdullah Financial District is one of the most visible manifestations of the kingdom’s ongoing economic and social reform drive, with towering glass skyscrapers, high-end retail outlets and green spaces dotting the area.
The district is home to some of the kingdom’s biggest domestic companies and international firms such as Goldman Sachs.
The headquarters of the kingdom’s influential sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, and theSaudistockexchange arealsolocatedintheheart of the district. Targeting the area, which is also home to residential buildings and a large metro station with heavy commuter traffic during the morning rush hour, would mark a major escalation in the kingdom’s fight against the Houthis.
No injuries Multiple floors of the Aramco tower appeared to have sustained damage, another witness said, with shattered glass and damage to part of the building’s facade visible.
The energy ministry said in a statement that ‘an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was subjected to an attempted attack today’.’The incident resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, with no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully.
The Houthis claimed to have ‘carried out four qualitative military operations, using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones’, listing targets including the financial district, Riyadh airport, Aramco oil storage tanks and the eastern Saudi city of Abgaiq.
Loud explosions heard The attack came hours after the kingdom’s education ministry announced late on Saturday the resumption of in-person schooling after weeks of remote learning in Riyadh following an earlier wave of strikes.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said in a social media post on Sunday morning that ‘air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh’, as loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital.
The Houthis seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A 2022 truce that had paused fighting in the longrunning conflict collapsed in July, and Saudi Arabia has since traded blows with the Houthis, who have struck Saudi airports, energy infrastructure and military sites.
The kingdom has been pressing allies for help as it comes under daily fire from the Houthis, who recently seized swathes of the Red Sea coastline from the Yemeni government.-AFP