A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that its air defences had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-aligned group toward the Medina region, which contains one of Islam’s holiest cities.
The announcement came only minutes after Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency warned of possible danger in an area near the strategic port of Yanbu. The agency later said the threat had passed.
Coalition describes the interception and Houthi response
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a post on X that air defences had intercepted and destroyed the missile, which he said the Houthi militia had launched toward Medina.
Also read: Saudi coalition says it downed Houthi missile amid Yemen fighting
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, rejected any suggestion that they had targeted the city. They called such accusations a “blatant and grave falsehood”. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, wrote on X that the group’s operations were aimed only at oil facilities and military bases, and he dismissed the allegation as a lie.
The group has attacked airports, energy infrastructure and military sites, and it has targeted Yanbu several times in recent months. A statement published online by the agency said a warning had been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Yanbu Governorate.
Yanbu’s role in Saudi oil exports
Yanbu is a major oil export hub and a key outlet for shipments carried through the kingdom’s East-West pipeline. Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran broke out in February, the port and pipeline have played a central role in helping Riyadh send crude and fuel to global markets.
The Houthis have also been firing missiles regularly toward Saudi Arabia, hitting several airports and disrupting air traffic over the kingdom, according to the reports. The group has not confirmed any death toll from the fighting.
Government forces report gains in Taiz and al-Jawf
Separately, Yemen’s internationally recognised government said its forces had made gains in the Sanamat area of Taiz governorate, where fighting continues. Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili said on Thursday that government forces had carried out 1,298 “targeting operations” against the Houthis over the previous 24 hours and had “managed to gain control” of Sanamat.
He said the latest operations had killed about 400 Houthi fighters and destroyed 132 vehicles, cars or heavy weapons placements. The figures could not be independently verified. Al-Nazili also said military engineers were clearing mines and booby traps from recaptured sites on the al-Jawf front.
Earlier, government forces had reclaimed the Dhubab district in Taiz and key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Late last month, the government said 16,100 Houthi operatives and commanders had been killed or wounded since October 5.
Yazeed al-Jeddawy, a research manager at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, said the conflict increasingly appears to be heading toward a prolonged war of attrition, because the government offensive has not shifted the balance of power over the past 30 days. He added: “The conflict is no longer driven solely by the dynamics inside Yemen; it is intertwined with the wider regional confrontation and the war involving Iran.”
