Saudi-led coalition accuses Houthis of attacking Medina power station
- Coalition says one transformer was disabled, but the wider electricity network remained unaffected.
- Houthis deny responsibility and report Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa and three Yemeni provinces.
- Saudi-backed Yemeni forces say they conducted more than two dozen strikes on Houthi positions in Taiz.
The Saudi-led coalition has accused Yemen’s Houthis of attacking a power distribution station supplying electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, as renewed fighting between the two sides escalates.
In a statement on Thursday, the coalition said Tuesday’s attack put one transformer out of service but did not disrupt the wider electricity network. It said an investigation, including an examination of drone wreckage, established that the Houthis had planned and carried out the strike.
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A Houthi military source rejected the allegation in comments carried by the group’s Saba news agency. The source described it as false and claimed it was intended to distract from Saudi Arabia’s failure to substantiate an earlier accusation involving Mecca.
Two weeks earlier, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it could enter the city’s restricted airspace. The coalition called that incident the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca since 2017. The Houthis denied targeting the city or any other Islamic holy site.
The coalition described the Medina incident as part of repeated attempts to threaten the Two Holy Mosques and provoke Muslims worldwide. It said it would continue measures to safeguard the holy sites and pilgrims.
Hours after the coalition issued its accusation, the Houthis reported Saudi airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, and the provinces of Saada, Taiz and Amran. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of those reports.
Separately, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces said on X that they had conducted more than two dozen airstrikes against Houthi positions in Taiz. They said the targets included missile storage facilities, command centres and other military sites.
The escalation marks the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely brought cross-border attacks to a halt in 2022.
Hostilities resumed this year after the Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping. Houthi forces also made substantial territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes inside Yemen while supporting government forces attempting to push back Houthi advances.
If confirmed, the reported attack on Sanaa would be the first since July, when Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces struck the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
