Yemen's Houthi movement launched drone attacks on Aramco oil facilities in a remote area of Saudi Arabia, the group's Al-Masirah TV said Saturday.
The Houthis have stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months.
"Ten drones targeted Aramco's Shaybah oilfield and refinery in the first Operation: Balance of Deterrence in the east of the kingdom," the Al-Masirah channel reported, citing a Houthi military spokesman. It did not say when the attack took place.
The Houthi spokesperson described the attack on Shaybah, close to the United Arab Emirates border, as the "biggest attack in the depths" of the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, since the Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015.
"We promise the Saudi regime and the powers of aggression bigger and wider operations if the aggression continues," the Houthi spokesperson said.
The attack was carried out "most probably" by three drones, a Saudi industry source said, adding that it had caused no casualties and that the "minor" fire caused had been extinguished.
In May the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom that caused a small fire, but did not disrupt oil output or exports of crude and petroleum products.
The coalition has responded to the drone attacks with airstrikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa and other areas held by the group, which controls most large urban centers in Yemen.
The violence is complicating U.N.-led peace efforts to ease tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in order to pave the way for political talks to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
Reuters
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