A corporate building belonging to state-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco was damaged in the capital of Riyadh on Sunday after Saudi air defenses countered a barrage of incoming missiles, according to authorities and news reports.
The incident occurred in the King Abdullah Financial District, a prominent commercial hub in Riyadh. Saudi state media, citing an official source within the kingdom’s Energy Ministry, reported that an administrative facility suffered minor damage from falling shrapnel during an attempted attack. Saudi authorities stated that no injuries or deaths occurred, though one witness observed emergency vehicles moving toward the location, CNN reported.
Video footage reviewed and verified by CNN showed blown-out windows and exterior harm to the upper levels of the Aramco skyscraper following warnings issued by Saudi Civil Defense alerting residents of an imminent threat.
Air Defenses Scramble Across the Kingdom
The Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen said its air defense units took down multiple airborne weapons launched toward Saudi territory early Sunday. Major-General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the coalition, stated on social media that forces intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh, along with another fired toward the Eastern province, Al Jazeera reported.
Al-Maliki also stated that coalition forces intercepted two cruise missiles and destroyed an unmanned drone over the southern region of the kingdom. While the Houthis have mounted regular cross-border assaults on energy infrastructure, transit points and urban centers in recent weeks, the group did not immediately claim responsibility for Sunday’s strike on the financial district.
Surging Casualties Follow Ceasefire Collapse
Cross-border violence has sharply increased since a United Nations-brokered truce established in 2022 broke down in July. Since then, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted sensitive Saudi infrastructure, including international airports in Riyadh and Dammam, as well as refining facilities in Ras Tanura and Rabigh. On Oct. 10, a Houthi missile attack on the international airport in Riyadh killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 others.
The missile launches against Riyadh followed lethal strikes inside Yemen. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said Saturday that coalition airstrikes on the village of al-Shariyah, located east of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killed 33 people and wounded at least 39 others. The casualties included women, children, civil defense workers and paramedics, al-Asbahi said. The coalition did not issue an immediate response to those casualty figures, which could not be independently confirmed by Al Jazeera.
Senior Houthi official Mahdi al-Mashat warned on Saturday that the group would retaliate against Saudi Arabia for actions taken in Yemen, where government troops launched a major offensive in October to recover territory under Houthi control.
United Nations data indicates that more than 1,600 people have died and nearly 300,000 individuals have been displaced since the ceasefire collapsed in July. With Saudi Arabia deploying advanced American-made air defense batteries to shield its vast territory, military experts note the kingdom faces ongoing challenges repelling coordinated attacks combining cruise missiles, ballistic weapons and long-range drones.
