Two oil pumping stations belonging to Saudi Aramco were attacked on Tuesday.
The strikes were carried out by Yemen’s Houthis, using drones armed
with explosives. The Houthis credited the attack’s success to help from
people living in Saudi Arabia.
Of the two strikes, only one did “minor” damage to the pumping facility
it hit. The pipeline in the area was reportedly shut down after the
attack, though a fire was reported a few hours later on the pipeline.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih termed it a “cowardly attack” by
“terrorist entities.” He claimed the incident proved the need for Saudi
Arabia to confront such groups militarily.
Yet the Houthi strikes are clearly a response to the Saudi invasion of
Yemen, which was on an entirely different pretext. The Saudi invasion
has taken a lot longer than expected, and as a result the Houthis have
begun developing retaliatory capabilities, in particular with the
makeshift drones.
Saudi Oil Pumping Stations Attacked by Houthi Drones
Minor damage reported at one facility, Saudi Energy Minister calls terrorism
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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