The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen on Monday claimed drone attacks on the oil pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West Pipeline, plus a new missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, just hours after it resumed limited operations following a previous Houthi missile attack.
The East-West Pipeline runs about 750 miles from the refineries of Abqaiq to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. It has become a vital part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to bypass the menace of Iranian terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz by shipping oil through the Red Sea.
The pipeline was attacked by the Houthis in mid-September, prompting a safety shutdown for about two weeks. It has since returned to pumping oil at nearly its optimum capacity. There was no immediate confirmation of damage to the pumping system from Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Aramco.
The Houthis also took responsibility for launching a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh. The Saudi military coalition said it intercepted the missile and destroyed two ballistic missile launchers near Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, which the Houthis occupied in 2014.
The coalition claimed it destroyed a total of four Houthi missile launchers on Monday, plus a missile storage facility and underground tunnels where missiles were stored.
The Houthis claimed they launched “dozens of ballistic missiles” at Riyadh, and the strike on the airport “achieved its target.”
“The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all international, regional and local airlines – as well as staff and travellers – against using King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, as it is unsafe and serves as a military target for our forces,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.
“The Saudi regime shall bear the consequences of any operations at the airport,” he added.
Saree claimed Saudi warplanes launched 56 strikes at targets in Yemen on Saturday and Sunday, all of them “targeting civilian objects.”
King Khalid International Airport had only just resumed limited flight operations following a Houthi attack on October 12 that killed 13 people and wounded over 300. Although eyewitnesses in Riyadh reported hearing explosions, Saudi officials refused to comment on whether the airport was damaged.
The Saudis have canceled several events and conferences due to Houthi attacks on their airports. On Sunday, the organizers of the Dakar Rally motor sports event announced they would move the race out of Saudi Arabia this year, to a venue in Africa.
The organizers, the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), said the Dakar Rally would return to Saudi Arabia in 2027, just in time for its 50th anniversary event.