SANAA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Wednesday that their drone air force targeted the refinery of the Saudi oil giant Aramco company in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"The Yemeni Drone Air Force on Wednesday targeted the refinery of the Saudi oil Aramco company in Riyadh," read a statement carried by Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.
Just one hour before the Houthi statement, the Saudi Aramco said in a statement on its official Twitter account that the company's "fire protection crews and Civil Defense have successfully controlled a minor fire due to an operational incident at the Riyadh Refinery today."
"No personnel are injured and no impact on operations," it said without referring to any drone attack alleged by the Iranian-allied Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels.
Border cities in Saudi Arabia, including vital military and economic facilities, have been the most targeted in such Houthi missile attacks, with the majority allegedly to have been intercepted.
In May, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at the distribution center of the oil giant Saudi Aramco company in Saudi border city of Jazan, but Saudi state media said the missile fell into a desert near the city.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition against Houthis in support of the Yemeni exiled government over the last three years.
The Houthi fighters seized control over much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa, in September 2014, forcing internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile in Riyadh.
The Saudi-led coalition campaign aimed to defeat Houthis, recapture northern cities and reinstate Hadi into power in Sanaa.
