Shrapnel damages Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh, ministry says

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said falling shrapnel damaged a Saudi Aramco administrative building in Riyadh on Sunday, after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthis.

The ministry described the incident as an attempted attack on the building in the King Abdullah Financial District. “The incident resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, with no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully,” the ministry said.

A ministry source said the relevant authorities had begun responding to the incident and taking necessary steps.

Several loud booms sounded in Riyadh early Sunday. A Reuters witness saw windows blown out on several floors of Aramco Tower, among the district’s tallest buildings.

Other witnesses described more severe damage to The Associated Press, speaking anonymously over security concerns. They said some floors appeared heavily damaged, while exterior glass on other floors was damaged.

CNN said a missile hit the building, citing several witnesses and geolocated videos. Social media videos verified by the network show damage on the upper floors, and a witness saw ambulances traveling toward the site.

An eyewitness told Agence France-Presse that a projectile hit the building, though the witness could not identify its type. Another witness described apparent damage across multiple floors, including broken glass and visible damage to part of the facade.

It was not immediately clear whether debris from an interception or a direct strike damaged the building, or which missile was responsible. The full extent of the damage and whether anyone was inside were also unknown.

Coalition describes interceptions

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said in a Sunday morning social media post that “air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh.” The coalition said it also intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles in Riyadh and the kingdom’s southern region.

In an account carried by the AP, the coalition said two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles had targeted Riyadh and other areas; it blamed the Houthis for firing the ballistic missiles. It separately said it intercepted a ballistic missile overnight that was headed for the southern region bordering Yemen.

Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert Sunday for several areas of the Eastern Province, including Dhahran, where Aramco has its headquarters. It later said the danger had passed. The province holds most of Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas reserves.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility, although they have claimed similar attacks before. The group has said its missile and drone launches will continue while Saudi Arabia keeps bombing parts of Yemen it controls and blockading its territory.

Aramco and the Saudi Center for International Communication did not immediately respond when the AP sought comment.

Fighting resumed in July

The Houthis have increased missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities since fighting resumed in July. The fighting is another front in the wider Middle East war that began with joint American-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

An attack extensively damaged Aramco’s headquarters in October. Saudi authorities said 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in an Oct. 10 attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

A 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely stopped the fighting in Yemen collapsed in July. The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed in Yemen since fighting resumed.

Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. A day before the Aramco incident, Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa, including women and children, while Houthi officials told the AP at least 27 people were killed.

Saudi authorities said they were investigating the reported deaths.