Daijiworld Media Network – Sanaa

Sanaa, Nov 14: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group on Friday claimed to have fired two ballistic missiles at what it described as concentrations of Saudi forces in Al-Tuwal, in the Jazan province of Saudi Arabia.

The claim came hours after Saudi civil defence authorities issued an all-clear for the province. It was not immediately clear whether the reported missile attack was connected to the earlier alerts.

Jazan is home to a Saudi Aramco refinery with a capacity to process 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Southern Saudi Arabia, which shares a border with Yemen, has repeatedly faced Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting military installations and energy infrastructure, including the Jazan refinery.

In a separate statement, the Houthis also claimed to have targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a pumping station along Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the claims.

Amid disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, Saudi Arabia has diverted around four million barrels of crude oil per day through the East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. This accounts for approximately four per cent of global oil supply.

Meanwhile, fighting between the Houthis and the coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government has intensified. The escalation follows the Houthi advance in September towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic shipping route at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.