Riyadh financial district targeted, Aramco tower damaged: Witnesses

• Witnesses told AFP that Riyadh’s financial district was targeted and the Aramco tower in KAFD was damaged, after Saudi air defences said they intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles.
• The attack raises tensions in the Yemen war, where the 2022 truce collapsed in July and the Houthis have hit Saudi airports, energy sites and military targets.
• The district is a key symbol of Saudi reforms, and damage there could mark a major escalation. The UN says the conflict has killed more than 1,600 people and displaced over 300,000.

RIYADH – An Aramco building in Riyadh was targeted in an “attempted attack”, the Saudi energy ministry said on Nov 8, with eyewitnesses telling AFP the skyscraper sustained damage, after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted missiles launched by the group.

Aramco facilities and infrastructure have been repeatedly struck by the Houthis in recent months, with tankers, refineries, storage areas and the company headquarters all targeted by the group.

“Aramco tower in KAFD has been targeted, that’s the sure thing,” an eyewitness told AFP, referring to the King Abdullah Financial District. Two others confirmed seeing damage to the building.

A 2022 truce that had paused fighting in Yemen’s long-running conflict fell apart in July and Saudi Arabia has since traded blows with the Houthis, who have struck Saudi airports, energy infrastructure and military sites.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, with the Saudi-led coalition entering the conflict a year later in support of the government.

The King Abdullah Financial District is one of the most visible manifestations of the kingdom’s ongoing economic and social reforms drive, with towering glass skyscrapers, high-end retail outlets and green spaces dotting the area.

KAFD is home to some of the kingdom’s biggest home-grown companies and blue chip international firms like Goldman Sachs.

The headquarters of the kingdom’s influential sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – and the Saudi stock exchange are also located in the heart of the district.

Targeting the area, which has residential housing and a large metro station with heavy commuter traffic during the morning rush hour, would mark a major escalation in the kingdom’s fight with the Houthis.

No injuries

Multiple floors of the Aramco tower appeared to have sustained damage, said another witness, with glass shattered and damage to part of the tower’s facade visible.

The energy ministry said in a statement that “an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was subjected to an attempted attack today”.

“The incident resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, with no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully.”

AFP was unable to confirm the extent of the damage.

The kingdom’s interior ministry has repeatedly warned residents against filming and publishing images of drones, missiles, air defence interceptors and the impacts of barrages.

The attack comes hours after the kingdom’s education ministry announced late on Nov 7 the return of in-person schooling after weeks of remote learning in Riyadh following an earlier wave of strikes.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki, in a social media post on Nov 8, said that “air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh”, as loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital.

The kingdom has been pressing allies for help as it comes under daily fire from the Houthis that recently seized swathes of the Red Sea coastline from the Riyadh-backed government.

Thousands of Syrian troops are set to be deployed to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with some already on the ground, said Yemeni officials.

The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed in impoverished Yemen.

The fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

The Houthis later declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a lightning campaign. AFP