Smoke and fire in Riyadh after intensified attacks by the Houthis (VIDEO)

A large cloud of smoke and fire was seen rising near an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday, a witness told Reuters.

According to the source, the fire occurred amid an escalation of hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, who are backed by Iran and have stepped up their attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure.

The Houthis said last week that they had attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones.

Saudi Arabia said at the time that it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards the Taif region and Yanbu, but did not report any damage to Aramco facilities.

JUST IN: Yemen’s Ansarallah struck an Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. Smoke and fire have been reported at multiple locations. The exchange of strikes between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah has intensified in recent days.