Madinah RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis traded accusations and reported strikes Thursday after a disputed drone attack on a power station in Madinah intensified tensions around one of Islam’s holiest cities.
The Saudi-led coalition said a Houthi drone struck the Taibah power distribution station in Medina early Tuesday, damaging a transformer at a facility that supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque. The coalition said the wider electricity network was not disrupted.
The coalition said an investigation and examination of the drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out the attack. It described the incident as part of what it called repeated attempts to target the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Madinah.
The Houthis denied the accusation. A Houthi military source, quoted by the group’s Saba news agency, called the claim a “lie” and accused Saudi Arabia of using it to divert attention from an earlier allegation that the group had targeted Mecca.
Saudi Arabia said two weeks ago that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace over the holy city. The coalition said that was the second alleged Houthi attempt to target Mecca since 2017. The Houthis denied targeting Mecca or any other Islamic holy site.
Fresh strikes reported in Yemen
Hours after the Madinah accusation, the Houthis reported Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa and the Yemeni provinces of Saada, Taiz and Amran. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the reports.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces separately said they had carried out more than two dozen airstrikes against Houthi positions in Taiz. The forces said the strikes targeted missile storage facilities, command centers and other military sites.
The reported attack on Sanaa, if confirmed, would be the first Saudi-backed strike on the capital since July, when Yemeni government forces struck the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
The Saudi-led coalition also said Thursday that it had intercepted four Houthi drones over the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait and two ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait and Jazan.
The latest developments mark a sharp escalation in fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the Houthis, following a UN-brokered truce in 2022 that largely halted cross-border attacks.
Hostilities have intensified this year as the Houthis expanded their military activity, including attacks on Saudi territory and shipping, while making territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes and continued support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
The escalation has also raised concerns over security around Madinah and Mecca, while the conflict continues to threaten stability in Yemen and the wider region.
The coalition said it would continue measures aimed at protecting the two holy sites and pilgrims. The Houthis, meanwhile, have rejected Saudi accusations and continued reporting attacks on their positions in Yemen.
