Saudi Aramco tower damaged after Houthi missile attacks on Riyadh

A building belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco was damaged in Riyadh on Sunday as Saudi Arabia reported a series of missile attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement.

An official at Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said Aramco's administrative building sustained minor damage after falling shrapnel struck it.

No injuries or deaths were reported, the official said, adding that the relevant authorities had responded and taken the necessary measures.

A Reuters witness reported seeing windows blown out across several floors of the Aramco Tower in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), one of the Saudi capital’s main business districts.

The damage followed reports of loud explosions in Riyadh and an early-warning alert issued by Saudi Civil Defence. Authorities later said the danger had passed.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh on Sunday.

It later reported intercepting two cruise missiles in the capital and the kingdom’s southern region.

Earlier, coalition spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki said another ballistic missile launched towards the Eastern Province had been intercepted.

The developments came amid escalating fighting between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, following the collapse of a 2022 truce and renewed military operations in Yemen.

The latest missile interceptions came a day after the Houthi-run Health Ministry said Saudi-led coalition air strikes had killed at least 33 people, including eight women and 13 children, in the village of al-Shariyah near Sanaa.

Health Ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said at least 39 others were wounded in Saturday’s attacks, which he said targeted homes, roads, paramedics and Civil Defence teams in the Bani Hushaish district, east of the capital.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the reported strikes, and Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify the casualty figures.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree also claimed that the coalition had carried out 105 air strikes and missile attacks over 24 hours, targeting Sanaa and seven other governorates.

He put the total number of attacks since the latest escalation began at 4,369.

Saree said the Houthis had carried out six operations targeting Aramco facilities, Riyadh airport and Saudi military positions on both sides of the border.

The latest escalation follows a campaign launched by Yemen’s internationally recognised government last month to retake territory held by the Houthis, including Sanaa. The group has controlled the capital since 2014.