Saudi jets bomb Yemen fuel depot as rebels fire back

Coalition hits Sanaa fuel depot; Houthis strike back at Saudi cities

Saudi coalition jets struck the al-Sabaha central fuel facility near Sanaa and oil infrastructure at Ras Isa and Hodeidah on Tuesday, drawing retaliatory Houthi fire toward Dammam and Dhahran. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said four missiles and two drones were intercepted near Riyadh.^[1]

Al-Maliki said missiles aimed at cities including Dammam were intercepted and shrapnel fell on a residential area in Dhahran. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said an Aramco administration building in Dhahran was targeted, resulting in "limited fire", while four sources told Reuters an evacuation order was issued for the building; Aramco made no official comment.^[6] The General Authority of Civil Aviation separately confirmed that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was targeted by an attack on 11 October.^[3]

Cruise missile downed near Riyadh airport

Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport in the Riyadh Region on 11 October 2026.^[2] King Khalid International Airport has been closed to civilian flights since a strike earlier in the week killed 13 people, and the shutdown is expected to remain in place until at least Saturday.

Brent crude settled near US$105.69 on Tuesday as markets weighed the risk of sustained disruption to Gulf energy infrastructure.

Yemen Petroleum Company disputes strike rationale

The Sanaa-based Yemen Petroleum Company said its al-Sabaha facility was struck by the coalition earlier on Tuesday. In a statement, the company said the al-Sabaha facilities held no stocks of petroleum products at the time of the strike, and that any attack on the site would not affect fuel reserves or supplies.^[4]

The coalition has not publicly responded to those specific claims. Conflicting accounts of both the al-Sabaha strike and the reported damage to a building in Dhahran reflect the broader pattern of disputed battlefield reporting that has characterised the Yemen conflict since 2015.

Large-scale coalition operation preceded Tuesday's exchanges

On 10 October 2026, coalition forces carried out a large-scale operation destroying 136 military targets in areas controlled by the Houthi militia.^[5] Tuesday's exchanges followed that operation by 72 hours, placing the start of the current escalation cycle well before the al-Sabaha strike.

The Saudi-led coalition has conducted air operations against Houthi-held areas since 2015, aiming to restore the internationally recognised Yemeni government. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is scheduled to reopen no earlier than Saturday.