Saudi Arabia said early Friday it thwarted an attack by Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels that sparked a fire near an Aramco oil distribution center, involving unmanned boats loaded with explosives dispatched into the Red Sea.
In remarks carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, an unnamed official at the Ministry of Energy reported that Saudi security forces had intercepted and destroyed two explosives-packed boats that it said Yemen’s Houthi rebels were using to target a major refinery and terminal in the southern Saudi province of Jizan.
The attempted attack took place late Wednesday near an offloading platform and caused the floating hoses that unload oil to catch fire, according to the energy official, who added that the blaze had been brought under control and caused no injuries.
The official sharply condemned the attack as threatening commercial shipping routes near the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait, used for oil shipments from the Gulf to Europe, as well as goods from Asia to Europe.
