Houthi leadership announced the attack through the group’s media apparatus, claiming that it was in retaliation for increased air strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia in the region.
The attack incorporated the use of missiles and drones against a number of targets, including airports and military bases inside and outside Saudi Arabia. However, the missiles aimed at the Saudi Aramco facility – located in the city of Jazan – were shot down before they could reach their target.
The Houthis were responsible for a similar attack on a Saudi Aramco facility last year which crippled the company’s production for weeks and sent shockwaves through the market ahead of its pipedream $2 billion IPO.
“Over the past few weeks de-escalatory efforts produced a significant reduction in fighting and showed to the Yemeni people that an end to hostilities is possible,” said Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in a statement issued through the US embassy in Yemen.
“However, renewed fighting is unacceptable and threatens to undermine this hard-earned progress. It also produces instability that terrorist groups and other malign actors can exploit for their own purposes, at the expense of the Yemeni people and the region as a whole. We call on all parties to put the needs of the Yemeni people first and immediately return to restraint. The Houthis must cease attacks on Saudi territory.”
