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Houthis Claim Drone Attack on Saudi Aramco Refinery in Jizan
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Houthis Claim Drone Attack on Saudi Aramco Refinery in Jizan

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jizan.
  • The Houthis stated the attack was retaliation for Saudi violations of Yemeni airspace.
  • Saudi authorities reported a fire at the refinery but did not attribute it to a drone attack, stating the cause was under investigation.

Yemen's Houthi rebels, reportedly backed by Iran, claimed responsibility Sunday for a drone strike targeting Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jizan, located in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The claim came hours after Saudi authorities confirmed a fire at the facility.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea asserted in a statement that the Yemeni armed forces "attacked the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, achieving a precise impact." He described the action as a reprisal for what he termed Saudi violations of Yemeni airspace. The Saudi Ministry of Energy reported that firefighters extinguished a blaze at the Jizan refinery early Sunday, confirming no injuries occurred. However, the ministry did not identify a drone attack as the cause, stating that "competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to address the incident."

attacked the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, achieving a precise impact

— Yahya SareaClaiming responsibility for the drone strike.

Sarea specified that the attack was in response to "the violation of airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah by the Saudi enemy with their drones," referring to areas in northwestern Yemen under Houthi control. The Jizan refinery has a capacity of approximately 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces refined products like gasoline and diesel. This is not the first time the Houthis have claimed an attack on this facility; they asserted responsibility for multiple strikes on "sensitive" Aramco installations in Jizan and Yanbu on July 25.

The attack occurs amid heightened tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which intervened militarily in Yemen in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government against the rebels. The escalation intensified late last month when the Houthis announced a maritime blockade against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, citing restrictions imposed on Houthi-controlled areas. Since then, the rebels have launched missile and drone attacks against merchant vessels in the Red Sea and on Saudi territory, including oil facilities. Saudi Arabia has responded with coalition airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas and announced a multinational maritime coalition to protect navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

in response to the violation of airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah by the Saudi enemy with their drones

— Yahya SareaStating the Houthi motivation for the attack.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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