King Salman on Aramco attacks: Saudi Arabia is able to deal with cowardly attacks

Dubai - King Salman in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday assured the ability of Saudi Arabia to deal with the consequences of attacks that hit the kingdom on Saturday.

He said: "These attacks are not aimed at the vital facilities of Saudi Arabia only, but also threaten the global economy."

In his speech, King Salman expressed his appreciation for the leaders of countries, state officials, regional and international organizations and all those who expressed condemnation of the attack that targeted two Aramco facilities.

A statement issued after a meeting of Saudi Arabia's council of ministers said the Cabinet had reviewed the damage caused by the attacks on Aramco installations, and it called on world goverments to confront the culprits "regardless of their origin".

The Cabinet also said it will defend its territories and vital facilities after the devastating attacks on two Aramco sites slashed the kingdom's oil output by half.

The kingdom "is able to respond to such acts" regardless of their origin, the Cabinet said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. It said the country's energy minister has briefed King Salman about the "grave" impact of the attacks.

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world's largest exporter of oil. 

The pre-dawn drone attack on the Saudi Aramco facilities sparked several fires.