Houthis and Saudi Arabia Offer Conflicting Accounts of Riyadh Attack

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are giving sharply different accounts of Sunday's missile attack on Riyadh's financial district. Riyadh describes minor damage to an Aramco office building and no casualties, while the Houthis say the strike was one of several operations against Aramco sites, the airport and Saudi military positions.

The dispute comes as the fighting widens. The Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi-led airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa a day earlier, and the United Nations has warned that violence has returned to levels last seen a decade ago.

What Saudi Arabia says happened

The official Saudi news agency, citing a source at the Energy Ministry, said an Aramco administrative building was the target of an "attempted attack." The agency said falling shrapnel caused minor damage and that no injuries or deaths were reported.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defenses destroyed Houthi missiles launched toward Riyadh. Reports differ on the exact tally. CNN and Middle East Eye cited two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles over Riyadh and the south. NewsCord said al-Maliki reported three ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and one drone launched toward Saudi regions. Middle East Eye added that another ballistic missile aimed at the Eastern Province was intercepted. Saudi Civil Defense issued warnings for Riyadh and Najran before saying the danger had passed.

What the Houthis say happened

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike on the King Abdullah Financial District. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group carried out six operations against Aramco facilities, Riyadh airport and Saudi military positions on both sides of the border, according to Middle East Eye. NewsCord, quoting a Saree statement, put the number at four. The Houthi statement also said one operation caused many dead and wounded at a National Guard camp in Najran. Saudi authorities have not commented on that claim or other Houthi claims, according to CNN.

Saree also claimed the coalition carried out 105 airstrikes and missile attacks over 24 hours, hitting Sanaa and seven other governorates, and put the total since the latest escalation at 4,369. These figures come from the Houthis and have not been independently confirmed.

What the physical evidence shows

CNN said video it verified shows damage to several floors of the Aramco building, with windows blown out. A Reuters witness also reported shattered windows across several floors, according to Middle East Eye. One witness told CNN they saw ambulances heading toward the area. CNN said it had asked the Information Ministry for further details.

Why it matters: a widening war and a stretched defense

For people in Saudi Arabia, the strikes show that missiles are reaching a capital that has spent heavily on protection. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said the kingdom spent $83 billion on defense last year. CNN reported that many Houthi projectiles are intercepted but some get through. Analysts told the network the Houthis now combine ballistic and cruise missiles with long-range drones to overwhelm defenses, and that Saudi planners must choose where to place limited systems.

The human toll in Yemen is rising too. Health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said Saturday's strikes in the village of al-Shariyah killed at least 33 people, including eight women and 13 children, and wounded at least 39 others. Al Jazeera said it could not verify those figures, and the coalition had not immediately commented. The World Health Organization reported that nearly 1,800 people had died by the end of October and more than 300,000 had been displaced, according to NewsCord. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned airstrikes it said hit civilian areas of Yemen and called for a halt to attacks and an end to the blockade.

Last month, 13 people were killed in a missile strike on Riyadh's international airport, CNN reported.

What comes next

Neither side has signaled a pause. Senior Houthi official Mahdi al-Mashat vowed on Saturday to "punish the Saudi regime for its crimes," and the group has said it will keep firing as long as Saudi Arabia carries out airstrikes on areas it controls and maintains a blockade. On the ground, the Saudi-backed coalition is trying to stop the Houthis from advancing south toward the port of Aden, which is held by the internationally recognized government. Middle East Eye said Yemen's government launched a campaign last month to retake Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa, which the group has controlled since 2014.

Hostilities between the two sides resumed in July, ending a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire that had largely halted fighting.

Earlier on Around Prague: Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Missiles as Shrapnel Hits Aramco Tower in Riyadh

Read next
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Missiles as Shrapnel Hits Aramco Tower in Riyadh
What the Houthis’ Escalating Attacks on Saudi Arabia and Aden Mean for the Region
Egypt Backs Saudi Arabia Against Houthi Attacks as Yemen Fighting Escalates

Around Prague, based on reporting by CNN, Middle East Eye, NewsCord