A ballistic missile has struck an administrative building at Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, Saudi Aramco, in Dhahran, causing a fire that was later contained, the country’s Energy Ministry said.
The ministry said the attack occurred late on Tuesday, adding that no casualties were recorded.
However, a source within the company told Reuters that the missile hit an office tower at the Aramco headquarters complex, damaging its top three floors.
Two other people familiar with the incident also confirmed that the building caught fire.
The complex houses a major operations centre overseeing Aramco’s extensive network of oil rigs, pipelines, refineries and export terminals.
The attack came amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have intensified missile and drone strikes against strategic locations across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s international airport in Riyadh has reportedly suffered four strikes, including an attack on Saturday that killed 13 people.
The incident was described as the country’s deadliest ballistic missile attack in a decade.
Saudi authorities said air defences intercepted and destroyed missiles and drones targeting Riyadh, Dhahran and the country’s southern region.
Saudi Civil Defense said four people, including two women and a child, were injured in Riyadh after debris from intercepted missiles fell on residential areas.
The incident also damaged 15 homes.
The Houthis had threatened a “harsh and painful” response to Saudi-led attacks on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, warning that potential targets included the Aramco headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh.
On Tuesday, Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that the Saudi-led coalition attacked the Yemen Petroleum Company’s Sabah central station, a fuel depot on the outskirts of Sanaa.
The coalition confirmed the attack, saying it was aimed at “neutralizing the capabilities of Houthis” to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and international waterways.
Saudi Arabia has resumed military operations in Yemen in support of the internationally recognised government following renewed Houthi advances towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The conflict has intensified amid the wider US-Iran war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Saudi Arabia has sought greater support from its allies to counter the Houthi attacks, but the United States has so far declined to join the kingdom directly in its campaign against the rebels.
