Saudi-led coalition says it downed Houthi drone in Makkah region - The Express Tribune

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile targeting southern Saudi Arabia and a drone in the Riyadh region amid escalating hostilities with the Yemeni group.

In separate statements, the coalition said its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed the ballistic missile launched toward the kingdom's southern region.

التحالف: اعتراض وتدمير طائرة مسيرة بمنطقة الرياض. pic.twitter.com/iTtdghqhln

It also reported intercepting and destroying a drone in the Riyadh region, without specifying its origin.

التحالف: الدفاع الجوي اعترض ودمر صاروخ باليستي أطلقته الميليشيا الحوثية الإرهابية باتجاه المنطقة الجنوبية. pic.twitter.com/GLV8hyvGhm

The announcements come amid a surge in missile and drone attacks attributed to Yemen's Houthi group.

Earlier in the day, Yemen's Houthis launched an attack towards Saudi Arabia, after the Saudi-led coalition said ​it had intercepted and destroyed ​a drone launched by the ⁠group over the Makkah region.

Houthi ​military spokesperson Yahya Saree dismissed the ​coalition's account as false in a post on X, saying the group ​had not carried out any ​operation towards Saudi territory. He said its ‌operations ⁠target Saudi oil facilities and military bases.

"A drone launched by the Houthi terrorist militia was intercepted and destroyed in the Makkah region," Saudi-led Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on X.

التحالف: اعتراض وتدمير طائرة مسيّرة بمنطقة مكة المكرمة أطلقتها الميليشيا الحوثية الإرهابية. pic.twitter.com/EFyNPlDmIG

Earlier on Friday, al-Maliki said the coalition's air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi cruise missile that targeted western Saudi Arabia.

The incident comes amid escalating hostilities between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, with both sides reporting military operations and attacks in recent days.

The Houthis also announced Thursday that they carried out six attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia, including oil facilities and airports.

The Saudi-led coalition has been involved in Yemen’s conflict since March 2015, supporting the internationally recognised government against the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

Yemen’s armed forces said Thursday that they were investigating reports that Houthi forces had used projectiles suspected of containing toxic substances in the southwestern province of Taiz, resulting in suspected cases of poisoning and suffocation among civilians and resistance fighters.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said it was taking field reports seriously from the Taiz fronts concerning the alleged use of toxic materials.

The ministry called for an urgent investigation to determine the nature of the substances, document their effects and identify those responsible for supplying them.

The military said the reports came amid continued Houthi attacks on Taiz, including sniper fire, indiscriminate shelling of residential neighbourhoods and the blockade of roads, preventing access to water, food, medicine and other essential supplies.

It warned the Houthis against targeting civilians or using prohibited means of warfare.

The armed forces said protecting civilians and breaking the siege of Taiz remained a responsibility of the state and its military, adding that they would take necessary measures in accordance with their constitutional obligations and international humanitarian law.

The ministry also urged the United Nations and relevant international organisations to assume their responsibilities in addressing alleged Houthi violations and support an urgent investigation.

It called for international pressure to reopen roads and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches civilians without obstruction.

The ministry warned that those responsible for attacks against civilians and their commanders would not escape accountability.

Taiz has been one of the main flashpoints in Yemen’s civil war, with government forces and Houthi fighters battling for control of the strategically located province for more than a decade.

The Houthi group has maintained positions around parts of Taiz since 2015, with restrictions on major access routes contributing to a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks as government-aligned forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have carried out military operations against Houthi positions in Taiz and other provinces.

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