Huge fuss in the run-up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia! An explosion has occurred near the Jeddah race track.
According to media reports, supporters of the Houthi rebels from Yemen are said to have attacked a refinery belonging to the oil giant “Aramco” and destroyed parts of it. The result: A huge fire and a large cloud of smoke, which can also be seen from the street circuit.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched a massive airstrike on Saudi Arabia. According to eyewitness reports, a large cloud of black smoke rose over Jeddah on the Red Sea on Friday. A person familiar with what was happening told Reuters an oil storage facility was hit. The stock exchanges reacted to the reports with an increase in oil prices. The oil giant Aramco maintains several industrial plants in the port city.
The Houthis had previously announced an extensive operation deep in Saudi Arabia. Details are yet to be announced. The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni civil war intercepted nine drones loaded with explosive devices that the Houthis are said to have launched towards the south, east and center of the kingdom, according to a television report on Friday.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran, both vying for regional dominance, are waging a proxy war. While Iran supports the Shiite Houthi rebels, Saudi Arabia is leading a group of Sunni-leaning Gulf states in the fight against these insurgents. Saudi Arabia is thus supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abd-Rabbu Mansur Hadi, which was driven out of the capital Sana’a by the Houthi rebels in 2014.
According to Saudi Arabian sources, the Houthis fired rockets and drones at energy and water desalination plants last weekend.