- Falling shrapnel caused limited damage to the building without any injuries or fatalities, as Saudi air defences intercepted Houthi missiles fired at the capital
- An Aramco administrative building in Riyadh was targeted in an “attempted attack” on Sunday, the Saudi Energy Ministry said, causing limited damage with no injuries or deaths.
- The coalition said air defences destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh, two cruise missiles and a drone, with another missile reported toward the Eastern Province.
- Witnesses told AFP and Reuters that several floors of the Aramco tower in the King Abdullah Financial District were damaged, going further than the ministry’s account.
- Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed six operations against Saudi sites; the claims are unverified.
- The attack came as in-person schooling was due to resume in Riyadh, and a day after the Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa.
RIYADH 8 NOVEMBER 2026 (Agencies) – A Saudi Ministry of Energy official said on Sunday that an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was subjected to an attempted attack, and that falling shrapnel caused limited damage to the building without any injuries or fatalities.
“There was an attempted targeting of a Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh, which resulted in shrapnel falling on the building and causing limited damage to it without any injuries,” the official said. The ministry added that the competent authorities had begun dealing with the incident and taking the necessary measures. Some reports quoted the ministry as saying the damage was caused by falling debris. Saudi state media said the building is in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District, and AFP reported that eyewitnesses saw damage to the tower. One witness told AFP they saw a projectile strike the building, though they could not say what type. Another witness said several floors appeared damaged, with glass shattered and part of the facade damaged, and a Reuters witness saw windows blown out across several floors.
Saudi air defences earlier intercepted and destroyed cruise and ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia towards Riyadh and the southern regions, the Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday. Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki said two cruise missiles and a drone were intercepted and destroyed in the Riyadh and southern regions, while two ballistic missiles targeting the capital were also destroyed. Al Jazeera reported that another missile targeted the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Loud explosions were heard in Riyadh, and the Saudi Civil Defense warned of potential danger in Riyadh and in Najran province. No link between the interceptions and the damage to the Aramco building was confirmed.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the group had carried out six operations involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against what he called strategic and military installations across the kingdom. He said the first targeted King Khalid International Airport and oil storage tanks and a distillation tower belonging to Aramco in Riyadh, the second Aramco facilities in Khurais, and the third a pumping station in the Dawadmi area. None of the claims has been independently verified.
The attack is the latest in a series of aerial threats targeting several Saudi regions since the beginning of November, as Saudi Arabia and the Houthis fight again after the collapse of a 2022 truce. The Houthis have carried out attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries, and other airports and Aramco facilities across the kingdom. At least 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in a Houthi strike on the Riyadh airport on October 10. The Sunday attack came hours after Saudi Arabia’s education ministry announced late on Saturday that in-person schooling would resume in Riyadh after weeks of remote learning following an earlier wave of strikes. It also came a day after the Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi airstrikes had killed at least 33 people near Sanaa, most of them women and children, a toll that has not been independently verified.