Saudi Arabia says Jeddah fuel tank blast caused by ‘Houthi terrorist missile’

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This Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. annotated by TankerTrackers.com, shows a damaged tank and fire-suppressing foam on the ground at a Saudi Arabian Oil Co. facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
This Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. annotated by TankerTrackers.com, shows a damaged tank and fire-suppressing foam on the ground at a Saudi Arabian Oil Co. facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh - The Arab coalition says those responsible would be held to account.

By Reuters

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Published: Mon 23 Nov 2020, 11:58 PM

An official at Saudi Arabia's ministry of energy said that a fire broke out in a fuel tank at a petroleum products distribution station in north Jeddah as a result of an attack with a projectile, Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported on Monday.

The official said that firefighting teams managed to extinguish the fire and there were no injuries or casualties, SPA reported.


He said that Saudi Aramco's supply of fuel to its customers was not affected, SPA said.

Earlier on Monday, Yemen's Houthi military spokesman said on Twitter that Houthi forces fired a missile that struck a Saudi Aramco oil company distribution station in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah.


The Arab coalition fighting to restore the internationally recognised government in Yemen said those responsible would be held to account, Saudi Arabia's Arab News reported.

“The terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi militia has been positively identified as the culprits of this cowardly terrorist assault,” coalition spokesman Brig.-Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said.

The attack, he said, was not just an attack on Saudi Arabia’s national assets, “but on the core of the global economy and its supply routes, as well as the security of global energy.”

He said the attack was a continuation of attacks on other oil facilities in the Kingdom, including a cruise missile and drone assault in Abqaiq and Khurais last year. Those attacks were initially claimed by the Houthis, although evidence suggested they came direct from Iran.

“Substantiated evidence proved the direct involvement of the Iranian regime in those terrorist assaults using Iranian-made advanced conventional weapons,” Al-Maliki said.

He said the coalition would act to safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure.

“All terrorist elements who participated in plotting and executing these hostile, terrorist operations against civilians and civilian objects will be held accountable in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law,” he added.


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