Attempted Attacks on Saudi Facilities Draw Condemnation

FILE PHOTO: Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Attempted Attacks on Saudi Facilities Draw Condemnation

FILE PHOTO: Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Several countries and organizations have condemned failed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militias on Saudi Arabian facilities.

An official spokesman at the Saudi Ministry of Energy said Sunday that a petroleum tank farm at the Ras Tanura Port in the Eastern Region, one of the largest oil shipping ports in the world, was attacked by a drone, coming from the sea.

The spokesman added that another deliberate attempt was also made to attack Saudi Aramco’s facilities. Shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near Aramco’s residential area in the city of Dhahran, where thousands of the company’s employees and their families from different nationalities live.

The spokesman said that both attempted attacks did not result in any injury or loss of life or property.

“These terrorist attacks do not only target the security and economic capabilities of the Kingdom, but also the nerve center of the global economy and oil supplies, as well as global energy security,” said Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Nayef Al-Hajraf.

He said the Gulf states stand with the Kingdom, adding that the bloc supports Saudi Arabia in all necessary measures it takes to protect its national capabilities.

Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen called on the international community to stand with the Kingdom in taking practical deterrent measures against all terrorist entities that carry out and support these subversive acts.

President of the Arab Parliament Adel bin Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi stressed that these despicable attacks do not only target the Kingdom's security and economic capabilities, but global energy security and its main supplies, and represent a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms.

Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Djibouti and several other countries also strongly condemned the attacks.



Saudi Etidal and Telegram Remove 129 Million Extremist Content

The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Etidal and Telegram Remove 129 Million Extremist Content

The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The joint efforts between the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and the Telegram platform in the field of combatting extremist content have achieved new results. The two teams were able to remove 129,634,467 million extremist content and close 14,516 extremist channels on the platform since February 2022 until the end of the third quarter of 2024.
During the third quarter of 2024, the two teams monitored the propaganda activity of three terrorist organizations: ISIS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Al-Qaeda. They removed 35,634,916 million extremist content and closed 323 extremist channels.
ISIS topped the list of removed posts with 34,602,606 extremist content and the closure of 189 extremist channels, followed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham with the removal of 768,821 extremist content and the closure of 87 extremist channels, while Al-Qaeda came at the bottom of the list with 263,489 extremist content and the closure of 47 extremist channels.
The two teams noted an increase in the propaganda activity of ISIS, with a peak on September 13, 2024, when the terrorist organization broadcasted 1,283,141 million extremist content.
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination between them regarding the prevention and combating of terrorism and violent extremism (PCVE), by monitoring and removing terrorist propaganda content published in Arabic via the platform.