SANAA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on an oil pipeline and other oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
"Seven Yemeni drones carried out the attacks on the strategic Saudi Arabia main crude pipeline in Yanbu city and other Aramko facilities," Houthi TV al-Masirah reported.
Saudi Arabia confirmed earlier Tuesday that two of its oil pipeline booster stations were targeted early in the morning by drones, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih said in a statement that the attacks caused a fire at the No. 8 station with limited damage. The pipeline transfers oil from the Eastern Province to the western coast.
Al-Falih condemned the latest attacks, along with the Sunday attacks against four ships including two Saudi oil vessels near the port of Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for attempting to destabilize the international energy supply.
He urged for global efforts to confront all terrorist groups that carry out such acts, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are allegedly backed by Iran.
The Houthi rebels have launched dozens of drone strikes and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi cities in the past months to retaliate against the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes on their positions in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a Sunni Arab military coalition against the Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels since March 2015 to support the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who was forced into exile in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
