Shrapnel from an intercepted Houthi ballistic missile severely damaged Saudi Aramco’s corporate headquarters in Riyadh, prompting Saudi retaliatory airstrikes that killed at least 27 people near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

The exchange marks a major escalation in the regional conflict. The missile was intercepted, but its fragments still caused severe damage: the headquarters was damaged by shrapnel rather than a direct missile impact.

Saudi forces subsequently carried out the deadly airstrikes near Sanaa. The identities of those killed, the targets of the strikes and any effect on Aramco’s operations were not specified.