Yemeni rebels 'launch drone attack' against Saudi oil facilities
Yemeni rebels 'launch drone attack' against Saudi oil facilities
Saudi authorities report their Aramco oil facility is operating "normally and safely" after Yemen's Houthis announce the launch of a drone attack targeting the southern Saudi-based oil company.
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The Houthis have been launching a wave of missile attacks retaliating to Saudi airstrikes [Getty]
Yemen's Houthi rebel group announced on Wednesday that they had launched drone rocket strikes against Saudi Arabia, according to an update on their al-Masirah news channel.
The channel said in a tweet that the group had launched a "Qasef 1" drone aircraft heading for the Abha airport in the southwestern Saudi city of Aseer.
In a second tweet, the group announced that the drone would carry out airstrikes on the state oil and gas company Aramco in the southern Saudi city of Jizan, near the border with Yemen.
Qasef 1 is a drone aircraft previously unveiled by the militant rebel group.
The channel did not provide any details on casualties of damage from the alleged attack, however Saudi authorities said its facilities in Jizan were operating "normally and safely" following the Houthis' announcement.
The strike markes the fourth time the Houthis have attempted to strike Aramco. Last Wednesday, the group launched a rocket attack against the oil facility, which Saudi Arabia shot down.
In the past three weeks, a further two missile attacks were launched against Saudi Arabia, one of which targeted the capital and the other, a ballistic missile, targeted the Saudi National Guard base in Najran but was intercepted.
The Houthis consider the missiles to be retaliation for the heavy Saudi airstrikes against the group in Yemen.
The UN has previously condemned the Houthis' firing missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia.
Yemen, which was the Arab world's poorest country before the war began, is currently the "world's worst humanitarian crisis". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called conditions there "catastrophic".
At least 10,000 have been killed since the Saudi intervention. There are up to 1 million suspected cholera cases in the country.
The US and UK have come under fire for supplying Saudi Arabia with weaponry as it carries out ongoing and deadly airstrikes.
The channel said in a tweet that the group had launched a "Qasef 1" drone aircraft heading for the Abha airport in the southwestern Saudi city of Aseer.
In a second tweet, the group announced that the drone would carry out airstrikes on the state oil and gas company Aramco in the southern Saudi city of Jizan, near the border with Yemen.
Qasef 1 is a drone aircraft previously unveiled by the militant rebel group.
The channel did not provide any details on casualties of damage from the alleged attack, however Saudi authorities said its facilities in Jizan were operating "normally and safely" following the Houthis' announcement.
The strike markes the fourth time the Houthis have attempted to strike Aramco. Last Wednesday, the group launched a rocket attack against the oil facility, which Saudi Arabia shot down.
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In the past three weeks, a further two missile attacks were launched against Saudi Arabia, one of which targeted the capital and the other, a ballistic missile, targeted the Saudi National Guard base in Najran but was intercepted.
The Houthis consider the missiles to be retaliation for the heavy Saudi airstrikes against the group in Yemen.
The UN has previously condemned the Houthis' firing missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia.
Yemen, which was the Arab world's poorest country before the war began, is currently the "world's worst humanitarian crisis". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called conditions there "catastrophic".
At least 10,000 have been killed since the Saudi intervention. There are up to 1 million suspected cholera cases in the country.
The US and UK have come under fire for supplying Saudi Arabia with weaponry as it carries out ongoing and deadly airstrikes.
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