Saudi oil Tanker attacked off Hudaida port

An attack on a Saudi tanker by Yemen’s Houthi would not hit oil supplies, Saudi energy minister said on Wednesday, after Houthi rebels said they had targeted a warship in response to an air raid that killed civilians.

The Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition, says the Houthis attacked the oil tanker off Yemen’s main port of Hudaida on Tuesday.

But the Houthis say they targeted a coalition warship in response to an air raid on Hudaida on Monday that killed at least a dozen civilians, including seven children.

No disruption 

Saudi oil industry sources told Reuters news agency that oil operations and shipments were proceeding as normal and that security around facilities inside the kingdom had not been raised further.

“It was a minor attack. There was no impact, but the question is will it continue?” one of the sources said.

The Houthis, who control most of northern Yemen, have launched missiles at Saudi Arabia, including the capital Riyadh, in the past few days. Saudi authorities said they had intercepted the missiles, although debris had killed one person.

In April 2017, Saudi forces said they have foiled an attempt to blow up an Aramco fuel terminal in southern Saudi Arabia using a high-speed boat laden with explosives, alleging Yemen’s Houthis were behind the attempt.

The Saudi-led alliance has conducted thousands of air raids targeting Houthis, often hitting civilian areas, although it denies doing so intentionally.

Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supplying missiles to the Houthis, who have taken over the capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen. Tehran and the Houthis deny the allegation.