Yemeni Houthi rebels have reportedly launched a drone strike attacking the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia early on Saturday using ten drones, causing a major fire.
It wasn’t clear if there were any injuries in the attacks in Buqyaq and the Khurais oil field, nor what effect it would have on oil production in the kingdom.
The fires began after the sites were “targeted by drones,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It said an investigation into the attack was underway.
"The rebels launched 10 drones in their coordinated attack on the sites," said a correspondent associated with Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV, adding that the attacks by the rebels would only get worse if the war continues.
“The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us,” the correspondent said.
In recent months, Houthis have increasingly used their new UAV-X drone during the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. According to UN investigators, the drone likely has a range of up to 1,500 kilometres (930 miles), reports HuffPost. It is not known whether the same drone was used to set Saudi oil facility alaze.
Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world.” The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transhipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day.
Air defence systems of Yemeni Houthis have reportedly destroyed a US-made MQ-9 drone belonging to Saudi Arabia and its allies, in Dhamar province, Yemen, on Tuesday night. Houthi spokesman Yahia Sarie said the MQ-9 type drone was shot down with a locally developed missile which will be introduced to the public “soon,” according to Al Masirah TV
Several dozen soldiers are reported killed or injured when Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi-supported government parade, in Yemens Aden city today. “A missile attack hit a military parade at an army camp west of the city controlled by a Saudi-backed government,” a security official was quoted as saying by Daily Sabah
Saudi Arabia launched an air strike to destroy arms depot of the Houthi militia in the northern province of Hajjah, Yemen, on Tuesday. “A number of Houthi militants were killed and injured
A missile fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels fell on the arrival hall of Abha International airport in south-east Saudi Arabia injuring 26 people, including three women and two children today morning. Media outlets associated with the Houtis claimed the projectile was a cruise missile
The US State Department and the Pentagon are reportedly sending teams to investigate the alleged breach of laws pertaining to the usage of American-made armored vehicles by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Yemen conflict. “The Department of State takes these allegations very seriously and is working closely with partner nations to determine whether there were any such unauthorized transfers”, Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Mary Elizabeth Taylor wrote to Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren in a letter published on Tuesday
Oshkosh-made M-ATV vehicles seen in a video footage released by Yemeni Houtis may provide a hint to their claim that they destroyed Saudi military vehicles in an attack launched on Sunday in Najran, a city along Saudi-Yemeni border. Yemeni Houtis announced on September 29 that they had carried out a “major assault” on Saudi Arabian-led coalition, claiming to have killed over 200 of their soldiers, other than annihilating military vehicles
Counter-measures to intercept and destroy malicious drones such as the type that attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities last week would be in prominent focus at Dubai Air Show 2019. Russia has announced it will present electronic warfare systems and latest air defense systems at the air show to defeat drones
Russias advanced air defense systems, the S-300s and S-400s, were ineffectual in detecting Israeli F-35 stealth fighters flying over Syrian capital Damascus, Israeli media reported. Israeli media published the flight route of its planes, reportedly F-35 Adir jets, that showed the jets entering Syrian airspace and crossing over its capital city, evading hundreds of kilometres of area shielded by Russian-made air defense systems
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) attacks against Saudi Arabian Oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were launched from three locations using multiple type drones including one that suppressed enemy electronic detection ability. Giving details of the attack it calls as “Second Deterrent Balance Operation,” YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree told journalists in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday that the drones involved in last weeks attack included third generation domestically-made Qasef (Striker), long-endurance Sammad-3 (Invincible-3) drones with a range of 1,500 - 1,700 kilometers and newly-developed drones equipped with jet engines
The display of a stealth drone powered by a turbo-jet engine by Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) at the MAKS 2019 show in Moscow (August 27-Sept 1) may hold a clue to the Yemeni Houti attack on two Saudi oil refineries last weekend. The Yemeni Houti Army used drones with a new type of engine, “something between a regular and jet engine,” Yemen's Army spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said referring to the drone used in attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil refineries
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