Saudi claims ‘vital’ oil installation struck in southwest

  The kingdom’s energy ministry reported the alleged incident in early Friday, the official Saudi Press Agency said. “The attack resulted in a fire in one of the terminal's tanks. The attack left no casualties,” the ministry noted, according to the agency. Such incidents affect the kingdom’s “petroleum exports” and “maritime traffic,” the report added. No party has claimed responsibility for the alleged incident yet. Yemen’s defense forces, comprising its Army and Popular Committees, have, however, been carrying out back-to-back counterstrikes targeting various spots inside Saudi Arabia. These have included the heart of the capital Riyadh as well as various installations belonging to the kingdom’s Aramco oil giant. The reprisal seeks to avenge Yemen for a seven-year-old war that Saudi Arabia has been leading against the impoverished country. The military campaign has been trying unsuccessfully to restore power to Yemen’s former Riyadh-allied officials. It has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, reduced most of the country’s health infrastructure to rubble, and forced entire Yemen close to the brink of outright famine. The Yemeni forces have vowed to stand by their country until the aggressors cease the warfare and lift a simultaneous siege that they have been enforcing on the violence-weary nation.