Houthis Deny Cruise Missile Strike Near Medina as Saudi Coalition Reports Fresh Attacks

The Saudi-led military coalition said Thursday it shot down a cruise missile over Medina province, home to the second-holiest city in Islam, while releasing new footage of Houthi strikes on civilian airports elsewhere in the kingdom.

The coalition stopped short of naming the Houthi movement as the source of the Medina missile, but Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree moved quickly to deny involvement. “What the Saudi enemy claims regarding targeting toward the city of Medina is a great and immense falsehood,” he said.

Saudi officials have been more direct about other attacks. Earlier this month they blamed the Houthis by name for striking an electric power distribution station in Medina, an accusation the group called a “lie.” The Houthis similarly denied launching a drone at Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on September 15 — an attack that drew condemnation from nearly every Muslim-majority nation except Iran.

The group has not denied responsibility for a separate string of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure, including repeated missile strikes on airports and oil facilities. Saree said one missile scored a “precise and direct hit” on the airport in Riyadh, and the Houthis repeated their warning that Saudi airspace is unsafe for all airlines, promising further strikes on oil facilities and airports “deep inside Saudi Arabia.”

The coalition released footage Thursday documenting roughly 20 drone and missile attacks the Houthis launched against King Khalid Airport in Riyadh between October 1 and October 11.

France’s government on Wednesday advised its citizens against using King Khalid International Airport or two other major Saudi airports, in Jeddah and Dammam, that have come under Houthi attack, and against traveling to Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam “unless necessary.”

Attack on Aden Presidential Palace

The Houthis also struck territory held by Yemen’s internationally recognized government, including the presidential palace in Aden, the southern port city that has served as the government’s headquarters for much of the time since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Yemen’s government confirmed the attack and said several security personnel at the palace were killed or wounded. “Aden will remain the hub for the operations of state institutions as they carry out their duties towards citizens,” it said in a statement.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said: “We reassure the sons of our Yemeni people that the Prime Minister and all members of the government are safe and well.”

Eryani described the strike as a “terrorist” attack involving at least five ballistic missiles. The Houthis said they were instead targeting a military base and ammunition depot used by Saudi troops within the palace compound.

Claims of a Downed Fighter Jet

Lebanese media reported Wednesday night that Saree claimed Houthi forces had destroyed a Saudi Typhoon fighter jet with a surface-to-air missile as it prepared to bomb Houthi positions in Yemen. Saree also said Saudi forces carried out 42 air and missile strikes across Yemen on Wednesday, hitting civilian sites in Sanaa and several other cities.