JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco said Tuesday that a strike by Yemen's Huthi rebels on its plant in Jeddah tore a hole in an oil tank, triggering an explosion and fire that was however quickly extinguished.
The Iran-backed Huthis said they had fired a Quds-2 missile Monday in retaliation for Saudi Arabia's role at the head of a military coalition that supports the government in Yemen's long conflict.
Aramco took reporters Tuesday to the distribution facility where damage to the storage tank was visible, with the top rim fire-blackened and a railings above buckled from the heat.
"Unfortunately the facility was hit yesterday by a projectile, by a hostile attack. As you know Aramco has been a target of such hostile attacks," said Abdullah al-Ghamdi, manager of the North Jeddah Bulk Plant.
The roof of the tank suffered "major damage" with a hole measuring two metres (six feet) across, he said. "It was a big fire, it was a big explosion but it was controlled."
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