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A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels has accused the group of carrying out a drone attack on a power distribution station in Medina that supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque.
The attack took place on Tuesday at the Taibah electricity distribution station, according to the coalition.
One transformer was put out of service, but the incident did not disrupt the city’s overall electricity network.
Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki said an investigation and analysis of the drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out the attack.
The Houthis, however, denied the allegation. A Houthi military source described the coalition’s claim as false and said it was intended to cover up Saudi Arabia’s failure to substantiate an earlier allegation that the group had targeted Mecca.
The coalition said the Medina attack was part of what it described as repeated attempts by the Houthis to target the two holiest sites in Islam — the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
It vowed to take measures to protect the holy sites as well as pilgrims and visitors.
The incident comes amid a sharp escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the latest violence described by Reuters as the most serious cross-border escalation since a UN-brokered truce largely halted such attacks in 2022.
Separately, the coalition said it intercepted drones and ballistic missiles launched towards southern Saudi Arabia.
Fighting has also intensified in Yemen, particularly in Taiz province.
