Houthis claim attack on Saudi oil refinery, blasts shake Riyadh

RIYADH, Oct 27: Yemen's Houthis said they targeted Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery with a ballistic missile on Tuesday, as blasts shook the capital of the world's top crude exporter.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces were able to target the RasTanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree posted on X, saying the strike caused "massive fires".

"Our armed forces targeted the Ministry of Defence in the enemy Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile and the hit was direct," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group "targeted two military transport aircraft with ballistic missiles, one at Najran airport and the other at (King) Khalid Air Base in KhamisMushait". Saudi authorities earlier in the day had issued brief danger warnings for several southern areas including Najran and KhamisMushait.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis earlier said it had shot down three missiles fired by the group towards the Eastern Province.

A resident in the city of Al Khobar, south of the RasTanura complex, told AFP he heard explosions around dawn and received a text message alert.

"We got the alert on the mobile and then heard a very loud bang," the resident said.

Earlier, a Houthi official said the Egyptian parliament's decision to authorise defensive military support for Saudi Arabia amounted to a declaration of war.

"It is truly remarkable that while these people go to discuss what they call 'peace in the region', Egypt and its parliament declare support for the so-called defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in doing so, declare war against the Republic of Yemen," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, in a Telegram post.�"AFP