The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis on Thursday said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the group at the Medina region, home to one of Islam’s holiest cities.
The announcement came just minutes after the kingdom’s civil defence agency warned of potential danger in the area near the strategic port of Yanbu. It was unclear if the two events were connected. The province’s Dammam airport has been a frequent target of attacks. Among their attacks on airports, energy infrastructure and military sites, they have targeted the port of Yanbu on several occasions in recent months. Yanbu, on the Red Sea, is the terminus of the East-West Pipeline that allows Saudi oil to bypass the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. The port and pipeline have played a key role since the outbreak of the Middle East war, helping Riyadh ship crude and fuel to global markets.
“Air defence intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Medina region,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a post on X. The Houthis rejected any suggestion they were targeting the city, saying such accusations were a “blatant and grave falsehood”. “Our operations target only its oil facilities and military bases,” the group said in a statement. Later, the coalition said it had shot down a drone in Eastern Province, a focal point of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry. The Houthis have repeatedly said their forces would not target the holy cities of Mecca or Medina in their ongoing campaign against the kingdom. “A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Yanbu Governorate to alert of a potential danger,” read a statement published by the agency online.
