Yemen's Houthis say targeted Saudi East-West pipeline, Yanbu

Yemen's Houthis said Thursday that their forces targeted Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and an oil facility in the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The pipeline, which ends at Yanbu, has become increasingly important to the world's largest crude exporter, allowing it to get its oil to market after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula at the outset of the Middle East war.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a post on X that one operation "targeted Pumping Station No 7 on the East-West Pipeline using a drone", while a second "targeted the Yanbu oil facility using a ballistic missile".

He claimed both attacks -- as well as two others launched at a Saudi airport and an airbase not far from the Yemeni border -- had been successful.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted the East-West pipeline, and on Monday Saudi Arabia said an attack on the conduit had sparked a fire but had not affected operations.

Saree also said the Houthis had attacked state-run oil company Saudi Aramco in Riyadh with a drone, though there were no immediate reports of damage.

A skyscraper belonging to the oil giant was hit on Sunday by what authorities described as falling shrapnel from an "attempted attack".

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis announced on Thursday night having intercepted a drone in the Riyadh area.

It previously said it had knocked down several other missiles and drones from Wednesday night through Thursday morning, though it was unclear whether they were the ones mentioned by the Iran-backed group.

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On Thursday morning, the coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, said it had intercepted a drone in the Riyadh region and another in Saudi Arabia's east.

It also said on Wednesday night that it had destroyed two ballistic missiles targeting western Saudi Arabia.

Two more drones were destroyed in the country's south and the region around the holy city of Makkah, it added late Wednesday.

According to the Saudi civil defence, missile debris fell in the village of Sabouha, about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Makkah.

Since fighting resumed in July, Saudi Arabia has come under regular fire from the Houthis, who have attacked airports, energy infrastructure, military sites and Riyadh's financial district.

But the Houthis have repeatedly denied targeting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.