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The Saudi-led coalition struck the al-Sabaha facility operated by the Yemen Petroleum Company on the outskirts of Sanaa on the night of October 12 2026 according to coalition spokesperson Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki. In response the Houthis fired projectiles at the Saudi capital and other locations prompting air defence systems to intercept all four missiles and two drones near Riyadh al-Maliki stated. Shrapnel from one interception landed in a residential zone of Dhahran where it triggered a limited fire at an Aramco administration building the Saudi Ministry of Energy reported in a statement. Coalition officials added that missiles aimed at Dammam were also destroyed.
The strike on the depot which has a storage capacity of roughly 58 000 metric tonnes followed a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh days earlier that killed at least 13 people and injured more than 300 Al Jazeera reported citing Saudi authorities. That assault on October 10 forced the closure of the facility with more than 6 000 flights cancelled across Saudi airports in the ensuing days according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Bloomberg noted that the incidents represent some of the deadliest attacks inside the kingdom in more than a decade and have complicated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to position Saudi Arabia as a hub for tourism and investment.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree had warned that the group would target Riyadh airport as well as Aramco facilities in the capital and its headquarters in Dammam following the coalition action Reuters reported. The Yemen Petroleum Company run by the Houthis assured Sanaa residents that fuel supplies would not be affected by the strike on what it described as an empty facility BBC News reported. Saudi officials said the coalition had issued prior warnings for civilians to leave the target area though Houthi representatives claimed two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the attack.
The latest exchange forms part of an escalation that began with Houthi strikes on Saudi airports and energy sites in early October 2026 according to a Guardian assessment of the conflict. Baraa Shiban a Yemen specialist at the Royal United Services Institute told the newspaper that Saudi Arabia is struggling to respond to the Houthis improved arms technology including lower-flying smaller drones that are harder to detect. The Iran-backed group has conducted repeated attacks on Saudi territory in recent weeks with coalition forces intercepting three ballistic missiles over Riyadh and Khamis Mushait on October 8 Al Jazeera reported.
Yemen has endured civil war since 2014 when the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from Sanaa prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year according to United Nations summaries of the conflict. Recent Saudi-backed operations have sought to reclaim territory from Houthi control in southern and central regions while the rebels have expanded strikes on Saudi infrastructure and Red Sea shipping lanes a Reuters review of the fighting found. The airport closure and related disruptions have affected Saudi Arabia’s economy at a time when the kingdom is advancing diversification plans under its Vision 2030 framework PwC Middle East analysis of regional stability indicated.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman struck a defiant tone at a petroleum congress in Riyadh days after the attacks stating that fear does not exist in the Saudi dictionary The Financial Times reported. Coalition forces have maintained air dominance over Yemen yet Houthi projectiles continue to test Saudi defences with debris from interceptions occasionally causing minor damage on the ground according to statements from the Saudi Civil Defence authority. The sequence of events has prompted renewed international calls for de-escalation though no immediate ceasefire measures have been announced.
