Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Yemeni rebel attack on a Saudi oil plant set off a huge fire near Jeddah’s Formula One circuit during televised practice sessions on Friday, part of a wave of assaults on Aramco facilities.
Smoke billowed near the circuit and the second practice was delayed in the attack, one of 16 drone-and-missile attacks by the Iran-backed rebels around the kingdom.
The wave of assaults comes ahead of the seventh anniversary of a Saudi-led coalition’s military intervention against the rebels in Yemen, a country in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis.
Oil prices have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked supply fears, prompting Western powers to implore Saudi Arabia and other members of the OPEC cartel to ramp up production.
Friday’s attacks targeted ̶0;Aramco facilities in Jeddah and vital facilities in the capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh ”, tweeted Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels confirmed the Jeddah attack.
The rebels have frequently launched similar assaults on Saudi oil facilities but the Jeddah attack
