October 03, 2026

Large plume seen near Saudi oil giant's facility as Houthi attacks escalate

Authorities have yet to establish what caused the smoke or confirm any damage to the facility

Large plume seen near Saudi oil giant's facility as Houthi attacks escalate
Smoke rises from a fire at the Aramco refinery south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct 3, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer

Reuters

Published : 03 Oct 2026, 08:52 PM

Updated : 03 Oct 2026, 08:51 PM

A large plume of smoke and fire was seen rising in the vicinity of an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday, a witness told Reuters.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities about the fire. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The fire comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who have stepped up attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's fire.

The Houthis said last week they had attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia said at the time that it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Taif and the Yanbu area, but did not report damage to Aramco facilities.

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