AI-generated illustration · Source : Reuters' X
RIYADH, November 8 – An administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was damaged by falling debris after an attempted attack on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said, according to Reuters.
A ministry official said there had been “an attempted targeting of a Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh, which resulted in shrapnel falling on the building and causing limited damage to it without any injuries,” Arab News reported. The official said the competent authorities had begun dealing with the incident and taking the necessary measures.
The statement was also carried by the Saudi Press Agency under the headline “Ministry of Energy Official: Attempted Attack on a Saudi Aramco Building in Riyadh”.
The ministry’s statement did not say who was behind the attempted attack.
The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday that Saudi air defences had intercepted and destroyed ballistic and cruise missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards Riyadh and southern regions of the kingdom, Arab News reported. Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said two cruise missiles and a drone were intercepted and destroyed in the Riyadh and southern regions, while two ballistic missiles targeting the capital were also destroyed, Arab News reported.
A Reuters witness saw blown-out windows across several floors of the Aramco Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the capital’s King Abdullah Financial District, CNBC reported, citing Reuters. Eyewitnesses also told AFP that the skyscraper had sustained damage, with glass shattered across multiple floors and damage to part of the facade visible.
Aramco was not immediately available for comment, and there was no immediate statement from the Houthis, according to the Reuters report.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued alert warnings on Sunday of potential danger in Riyadh and Najran province but lifted them shortly afterwards, Arab News reported. It also raised warnings for Buqayq and Al-Ahsa governorates and Dammam city, lifting them once the danger had passed. Multiple loud booms were heard in Riyadh shortly after the Civil Defence alert, a Reuters witness said.
The coalition has reported at least 15 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones intercepted or destroyed across the kingdom this month, according to Arab News.
Saudi Aramco is the kingdom’s state-owned oil company. Gulf stock markets retreated on Sunday as traders awaited US President Donald Trump’s next move on Iran, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters’ X; Saudi Ministry of Energy via Saudi Press Agency and Arab News; CNBC/Reuters; AFP
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