Attack on Saudi Aramco headquarters causes limited fire in Dhahran

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. An attack on Tuesday night struck the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, as hostilities intensified between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis. The Saudi energy ministry reported a limited fire, with nobody injured or killed.

Fire and damage at headquarters

The ministry said authorities dealt with the incident late on Tuesday at an administrative building within the headquarters complex, taking the necessary measures.

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Earlier, a company source told Reuters that the complex had been hit by a ballistic missile. According to that source, the strike damaged the uppermost three floors of an office tower. That source, along with two others familiar with the incident, said the building was burning.

Six sources had also told Reuters earlier that they heard loud booms close to the complex.

The headquarters houses a major Aramco operations centre responsible for overseeing an extensive network of oil rigs both on land and at sea, as well as pipelines, refineries and terminals used for exports.

Missile interceptions and injuries

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed a missile in Dhahran, with debris landing in a residential neighbourhood. It gave no additional details.

Authorities separately reported intercepting and destroying missiles and drones over Riyadh, the capital, and southern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Civil Defense said on Wednesday that four people in Riyadh were injured by falling debris after two Houthi missiles were intercepted and destroyed. Its spokesperson identified those injured as two women, one man and one child, and said fragments caused minor damage to 15 homes.

Week of attacks on Saudi sites

For a week, the Houthis have launched drones and ballistic missiles against important Saudi sites in response to the kingdom’s support for government forces in Yemen, where the civil war has reignited.

Riyadh’s international airport has been struck four times. A ballistic missile attack there on Saturday killed 13 people, making it Saudi Arabia’s deadliest strike in a decade. Subsequent attacks have led to flights being grounded nationwide.