The Yemeni armed forces have carried out a string of operations against strategic energy facilities deep inside Saudi Arabia, striking oil depots and pipelines in reprisal for the Riyadh regime’s ongoing military aggression and blockade against their homeland.
“By the grace of God, a number of sensitive sites and installations related to the supply and transport of crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to [the port city of] Yanbu were targeted by several drones in response to the Saudi enemy’s drone incursions into Yemeni airspace,” Army spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced in a statement on Monday.
He, however, did not provide any information about the extent of damage.
Satellite images show thick plumes of black smoke and raging fire at the Abqaiq oil facility in southern Saudi Arabia. The installation had come under attack by kamikaze drones and missiles hours earlier.
The Abqaiq oil processing plant, operated by the state-owned petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco, reportedly bypasses the Strait of Hormuz and delivers oil to the Red Sea at the Yanbu terminal.
The facility houses the world’s largest oil processing and crude stabilization facility, and supplies approximately 5 percent of the world’s oil.
The development came only a few days after the Yemeni army claimed an attack on two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea.
“We targeted two Saudi oil tankers, named Encelia and Layla, for their violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces,” Saree said on Wednesday.
He said the operation was carried out “within the context of breaking the unjust and oppressive siege imposed by the Saudi enemy on our dear people for 12 years.”
Saree noted that it was intended to affirm “the equation of ‘siege for a siege’” and Yemen’s right to confront “Saudi-American injustice and tyranny” and reclaim its wealth and legitimate rights.
Yemen declared on Monday that it would impose “a maritime blockade” on Saudi Arabia, effective immediately.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced in a televised statement that a ban on maritime navigation associated with Saudi Arabia “has taken effect from the time the statement was made.”
Saree cautioned that any escalation from Saudi Arabia would provoke a “thorough and harsh response.”
