The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group had attacked a power distribution station in Medina that supplies electricity to the Prophet's Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites.

According to the coalition, the strike put one transformer out of service but did not affect the wider power network. A Houthi military source, quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, denied the coalition's report, leaving the incident defined from the outset by directly conflicting accounts.

The Houthis later reported Saudi strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen, though there was 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 Sanaa, without providing further details.

The recent escalation represents 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 by backing government forces fighting to repel the Houthis. The renewed fighting has again drawn cities and infrastructure on both sides of the border into the line of fire, a dynamic the 2022 truce had largely put on hold.

The coalition said an investigation and an examination of drone wreckage had confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out Tuesday's attack the Medina power station.

A Houthi military source called the coalition's claim a "lie," saying it was intended to cover up what he described as Saudi Arabia's failure to substantiate an earlier accusation that the Houthis had targeted the Muslim holy city of Mecca, according to the Saba news agency. Two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace over the city. The coalition described that 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 in Mecca and Medina and "provoke" Muslims worldwide, adding that it would continue taking measures to protect the holy sites and pilgrims.

It also said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, without giving immediate details on any damage or casualties.

Early on Friday, local officials said 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 either the coalition or the Houthis. As with the competing accounts over the Medina strike, the reports rested on statements from the parties involved, leaving independent verification an open question.

— Reuters

Source: BusinessWorld