Saudi oil refinery attacked by Houthi drones

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery in Riyadh using three drones.

The attack started a small fire that did not cause injuries or affect supplies, the kingdom’s energy ministry said early Friday.

It took place around 4:40 a.m. Thursday. Such attacks not only target Saudi Arabia, but also the security and stability of energy supply to the world, the ministry statement said.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has recently intensified cross-border drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni legitimate government. Most of such attacks were reportedly intercepted.

The escalation came after the militia has recently lost several strategic districts in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib in central Yemen.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

Yemen’s conflict has killed more than 150,000 people, both fighters and civilians, and spawned what the United Nations says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Many more have been internally displaced.

Around 13 million Yemenis are headed for starvation due to a protracted civil conflict and a lack of funding for humanitarian aid, the U.N. food agency has warned.