Aramco tower in Riyadh damaged as Saudi coalition reports intercepts

As of 7:12 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026

An administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh was damaged Sunday in what Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry called an "attempted attack," as the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said its air defenses had intercepted missiles and a drone over the kingdom.

"The incident resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, with no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully," the ministry said in a statement quoted by AFP. The Saudi Press Agency carried the statement from an unnamed ministry source. The ministry did not say who was responsible, Reuters reported.

Damage in the financial district

Witnesses told AFP that the Aramco tower in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District, or KAFD, was damaged. "Aramco tower in KAFD has been targeted, that's the sure thing," one witness said. Two others told the agency they had seen damage to the building. One witness told AFP they saw a projectile strike the building but did not know what type it was. Another said several floors appeared damaged, with shattered glass and part of the facade visibly damaged. AFP said it could not confirm the extent of the damage.

A Reuters witness saw blown-out windows across several floors of the Aramco Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the district, according to a Reuters report carried by Business Standard. Reuters said Aramco was not immediately available for comment.

The BBC said footage authenticated by BBC Verify showed more extensive damage than the ministry described, with at least one floor appearing badly hit and windows shattered on more than one level.

The district is home to the headquarters of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Saudi stock exchange, as well as major domestic and international companies, AFP noted.

What the coalition says it intercepted

The coalition made a series of separate statements on X over the weekend. Its spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said air defenses had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh. The coalition said in a separate post that two cruise missiles had been intercepted and destroyed in the Riyadh and Southern regions. That post did not say who launched them.

In another statement, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone that it said the Houthis launched toward the Southern Region. None of the intercept statements described damage or casualties.

A Reuters witness heard multiple loud booms in Riyadh shortly after Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert, Reuters reported. Civil Defense later said the danger had passed.

Eastern Province alerts

Earlier, Saudi Civil Defense issued and later lifted early-warning alerts in several areas of the oil-rich Eastern Province, Reuters reported. Its posts on X show an alert for Dammam declared over about 10 minutes later. The coalition said air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile that it said the Houthis launched toward the Eastern Region, the official Saudi Press Agency and Reuters reported.

Coalition says it hit launch platforms

Later Sunday, the coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic-missile launch platforms in Yemen's Saada province that it said the Houthis had used in the day's attempted attack on Riyadh. In a separate statement, it said it had destroyed a launch platform in Sanaa that it said was used in the attempted attack on the Eastern Province. The coalition did not give details of the strikes, and the claims could not be independently verified.

Houthi claims

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had carried out "four qualitative military operations, using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," AFP reported. In statements on Telegram and X, Saree claimed strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, Aramco oil storage tanks and a financial center in Riyadh, and said they caused "significant damage." He also claimed a strike on Aramco in Abqaiq that he said caused fires, as well as attacks on forces in Yemen that he described as Saudi.

Saudi authorities have not confirmed any damage at the airport, the storage tanks or Abqaiq. In his statement, Saree said the strikes were a response to recent attacks on a market in Taiz province and on homes in Bani Hushaish, near Sanaa, that he blamed on Saudi Arabia.

Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Syria condemned the attacks, Al Jazeera reported.

Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis resumed after a 2022 truce collapsed in July, AFP said. The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced in Yemen since then, according to AFP.