Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Yemen’s Houthis on Sunday claimed an attack on the financial district of the Saudi capital Riyadh, with eyewitnesses saying they saw damage to a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Aramco.

Aramco facilities and infrastructure have been repeatedly struck by the Houthis in recent months, with tankers, refineries, storage areas and the company headquarters all targeted by the group.

“Aramco tower in KAFD has been targeted, that’s the sure thing,” an eyewitness told AFP, referring to the King Abdullah Financial District. Two other witnesses confirmed seeing damage to the building.

A 2022 truce that had paused fighting in Yemen’s long-running conflict fell apart in July, and Saudi Arabia has since traded blows with the Houthis, who have struck Saudi airports, energy infrastructure and military sites.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, with the Saudi-led coalition entering the conflict a year later in support of the government.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah Almighty, carried out four qualitative military operations, using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” the Houthis said in an English-language statement, listing targets including the financial district, Riyadh airport, Aramco oil storage tanks and the eastern Saudi city of Abqaiq.

One eyewitness in the area of the Aramco skyscraper told AFP they saw a projectile strike the building but they were unsure what type of projectile it was.

The King Abdullah Financial District is one of the most visible manifestations of the kingdom’s ongoing economic and social reforms drive, with towering glass skyscrapers, high-end retail outlets and green spaces dotting the area.

- Escalation -

KAFD is home to some of the kingdom’s biggest home-grown companies and blue-chip international firms like Goldman Sachs.

The headquarters of the kingdom’s influential sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – and the Saudi stock exchange are also located in the heart of the district.

Targeting the area, which is also home to residential buildings and a large metro station with heavy commuter traffic during the morning rush hour, would mark a major escalation by the Houthis.

“I see this as an attack on the credibility of Vision 2030 as much as on Aramco itself,” Andreas Krieg of London-based risk consultancy MENA analytica told AFP, referencing Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification plan.

“It raises the political costs of Saudi Arabia’s Yemen campaign, strengthens those demanding military escalation and undermines the argument that Riyadh can restore deterrence through airpower. The Houthis are making Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation hostage to an increasingly unwinnable war.”

Multiple floors of the Aramco tower appeared to have sustained damage, said a witness, with glass shattered and damage to part of the tower’s facade visible.

The energy ministry said in a statement that “an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was subjected to an attempted attack today”.

“The incident resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, with no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully.”

AFP was unable to confirm the extent of the damage.

The kingdom’s interior ministry has repeatedly warned residents against filming and publishing images of drones, missiles, air defence interceptors and impact sites.

- Repeated attacks -

The attack comes hours after the kingdom’s education ministry announced late on Saturday the return of in-person schooling after weeks of remote learning in Riyadh following an earlier wave of strikes.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki, in a Sunday morning social media post, said that “air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh”, as loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital.

The kingdom has been pressing its allies for help as it comes under daily fire from the Houthis.

Thousands of Syrian troops are set to deploy to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with some already on the ground, multiple Yemeni officials told AFP on Saturday.

The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed in impoverished Yemen.

The fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

Later, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a lightning campaign.