Houthi drone attacks Saudi Arabia oilfield

A drone attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi group on an oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia yesterday caused a “limited” fire at a gas plant but had no impact on oil production, state-run oil company Saudi Aramco said.

A Houthi military spokesman said earlier that the group had targeted the Shaybah oil field with 10 drones, in what he said was the “biggest attack in the depths” of the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, by the Iran-aligned group.

But a Saudi industry source told Reuters the attack most probably involved only three drones and caused no casualties.

Shayba is more than 1,000 km away from Houthi-controlled territory in northwestern Yemen.

The field is located near the border with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s main partner in the Sunni Arab coalition which has been battling the Houthis since 2015 in order to restore Yemen’s ousted pro-Saudi government.

That government was driven from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014. The war has been in military stalemate for years.

The Houthis have stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months.

Riyadh has accused Tehran of supplying the Houthis with the missiles and drones used in attacks on Saudi cities, a charge both Iran and the group reject. The Houthis say they manufacture their own weapons and are fighting a corrupt system.