Saudi-led coalition says Houthis attacked power station for Prophet’s Mosque in Medina

THE SAUDI-LED coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group had attacked a power distribution station in Medina which supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.

The coalition said the attack put one transformer out of service but did not affect the power network. A Houthi military source, quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, denied the coalition report.

The Houthis later reported Saudi strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen, with no immediate Saudi confirmation of the strikes.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, which are aligned with the internationally recognized government, said coalition forces had attacked what it described as “high-value targets” in the capital Sanaa, without providing further details.

The recent escalation is the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022.

Hostilities resumed this year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, while Houthi forces also made major territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes in Yemen and backed government forces fighting to repel the Houthis.

The Saudi-led coalition said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out Tuesday’s attack on the Medina power station.

A Houthi military source said the coalition claim was a “lie” intended to cover up what he described as Saudi Arabia’s failure to substantiate its earlier accusation that the Houthis targeted the Muslim holy city of Mecca, said the Saba news agency.

Saudi Arabia said two weeks ago it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace over the city. The coalition described the incident as the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca since 2017, while the Houthis denied targeting Mecca or any other Islamic holy site.

The coalition said the Medina attack was part of what it described as repeated Houthi attempts to target the Two Holy Mosques and “provoke” Muslims worldwide. It said it would continue taking measures to protect the holy sites and pilgrims.

The coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait. It gave no immediate details on any damage or casualties.

Local officials said early on Friday that the Houthis had also targeted the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces command in Aden with several ballistic missiles and drones. There was no immediate comment from the coalition or the Houthis. — Reuters