Two foreign nationals were killed and two others injured Wednesday after Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone attempting to target a facility at Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field in the country’s Eastern Province, the Energy Ministry said. A ministry official said Saudi air defenses intercepted the drone as it attempted to strike one of the facilities at the oil field, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Debris from the interception sparked a fire in a vehicle belonging to a contractor working at the field, outside the facility’s perimeter, the official said. The incident did not affect operations at the oil field, the ministry added. The official identified the two fatalities as Philippine and Nepalese nationals, while the injured were Pakistani and Indian nationals. Relevant authorities responded to the incident and took the necessary measures, according to the statement. Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition said that it intercepted and destroyed four drones launched toward Saudi Arabia. Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said on the US social media platform X that the interception and destruction operation was carried out in the regions of Madinah and the eastern province. In a separate statement, al-Maliki said coalition forces had intercepted and destroyed a drone heading toward the eastern region. After report of the interception, the Houthis' military spokesperson said in a statement, "We did not launch any drones towards Saudi Madinah on Wednesday." However, the Houthi spokesperson, Yahya Saree said later that the group had targeted the Saudi-led coalition's “military operation room at the Badr Camp in Aden with a ballistic missile,” Al Jazeera reported. The confirmation came after, according to Al Jazeera, a loud blast was heard in Aden. Separately, warplanes carried out airstrikes targeting Houthi positions east of the coastal city of Mokha in southwestern Yemen, Yemen TV reported. The broadcaster reported the strikes but did not provide further details on the targets or any casualties. There was also no immediate information on the extent of the damage or comment from the Houthis. The airstrikes came amid an ongoing military offensive against the Houthis in southwestern Yemen. On Tuesday, the Yemeni army said it had carried out 744 attacks against the group over 24 hours, neutralising around 200 of its members and destroying or damaging 90 vehicles and other military assets. Further, Al Jazeera cited the Saudi-led coalition saying its forces were "engaged in heavy fighting against the Houthis in Kahboub, southwestern Yemen and were trying to repel a large-scale attack" by the group. Yemen’s central bank orders freezing assets of 135 Houthi-linked individuals, entities On Tuesday, Yemen’s central bank ordered banks and exchange companies to freeze the accounts and assets of 135 Houthi-linked individuals, entities and vessels placed on terrorism lists, the government-run SABA news agency reported. The Aden-based bank issued the directive under an October 19 order by the country’s public prosecutor to designate those listed and freeze their assets over their alleged ties to the Houthi group. The measures also ban financial and commercial dealings with those listed, including opening new bank accounts or carrying out transactions on their behalf. Financial institutions were instructed to identify and report the accounts, assets and money transfers of those listed to the country’s financial intelligence and anti-money laundering authorities. Read: Death toll from Houthi attack on Yemen training camp rises to 73 According to SABA, the list includes Houthi political, military and security officials, businessmen, a company and five oil tankers identified by Yemeni authorities as smuggling vessels. The agency did not disclose the names of those listed. On October 11, Yemen’s internationally recognised government approved a draft law designating the Houthis a “terrorist organisation” and criminalising the group’s activities and financing. The government also called for completing the legal and constitutional procedures needed to enact the legislation. EU exploring ways to increase support for Yemeni government: Kallas On the same day, the European Union announced it was exploring ways to increase its support for Yemen's government and stood ready to back mediation efforts aimed at resuming meaningful political negotiations, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. Addressing a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Kallas said the EU was examining options to step up its assistance to Yemen amid escalating Houthi attacks and worsening regional security. Emphasising the need for a diplomatic solution, she said the EU was ready to support efforts to revive political negotiations. "We also stand ready to support all mediation efforts to resume meaningful political negotiations. Escalation will leave everyone worse off," Kallas said. She urged all parties concerned to help bring "the Houthi aggression" to an end and called on the group to re-engage with the United Nations-led mediation process. Read More: Saudi Arabia intercepts, destroys Houthi ballistic missile, coalition's spokesperson says On maritime security, Kallas said the EU's Operation Aspides had escorted hundreds of commercial vessels to safety since its launch in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. "We have a huge list of companies requesting our support and not enough ships to help all who request it," she said, adding that the EU lacked sufficient naval assets to meet all requests for protection. She stressed that the operation was not intended to engage in the war but to protect commercial shipping and European trade interests. The bloc will also continue supporting the Yemeni Coast Guard and other maritime actors in the region, including Djibouti, to combat arms smuggling, Kallas added. On calls to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, she noted that such a move would require the support of all member states. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several other provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government. The Houthis control much of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and their allies hold Aden and large parts of the country’s southern and eastern provinces.