Yemeni Houthis claim attack on Saudi Arabia's Shaybah oil field

The facilities attacked included a refinery and oil storage, Al Masirah said, citing a military spokesman.

Supporters of the Houthi movement shout slogans as they attend a rally to mark the 4th anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen's war, in Sanaa, Yemen March 26, 2019.  (photo credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/ REUTERS)
Supporters of the Houthi movement shout slogans as they attend a rally to mark the 4th anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen's war, in Sanaa, Yemen March 26, 2019.
(photo credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/ REUTERS)
 DUBAI - Houthi forces in Yemen have made a drone attack on oil facilities at Shaybah in Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni movement's Al Masirah television said on Saturday.

A drone attack launched by Yemen's Houthi group on an oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia caused a "minor" fire at a gas plant but had no impact on oil production, a Saudi industry source said. 

The attack on the Shaybah oil field was carried out "most probably" by three drones, the source said, adding that it had caused no casualties and that the fire had been extinguished.

The facilities attacked included a refinery and oil storage, Al Masirah said, citing a military spokesman. It did not say when the attack took place.

Shaybah, operated by state-oil company Saudi Aramco, is located in the east of the kingdom, close to the United Arab Emirates border.

The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most of Yemen's other populous areas, have stepped up attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia in recent months.

In response, the Saudi-led coalition has targeted military sites belonging to the group, especially around Sanaa.

The attacks are complicating U.N.-led peace efforts.

The Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore a Yemeni government ousted from power in Sanaa by the Houthis.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine.