The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has reported that it intercepted a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region .
The drone was “intercepted and destroyed” on Friday morning, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a social media post. It was also reported that a missile aimed at western Saudi Arabia was earlier brought down, as hostilities between the Riyadh-backed Yemen government and Iran-backed Houthis continue to escalate .
A Houthi spokesperson denied targeting the Muslim holy city or surrounding region, reiterating that the group’s cross-border attacks remain strictly focused on Saudi energy and military infrastructure.
The Saudi-led coalition has previously accused the Houthis of launching drones towards Islam’s two holiest cities: Mecca and Medina .
“Our operations target [Saudi] oil facilities and military bases, and there is no longer anyone in this world who believes these fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal Al Saud regime,” the Houthi spokesman wrote.
Yemeni media outlets affiliated with the Houthis also reported that airstrikes targeted the Mahliyah district in Marib, Haifan in Taiz , and Huwaishan in Al-Jawf in the country.
Reporting from Taiz, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Hadeel al-Yamani said that while the city remained in “cautious calm” on Friday, fighting along the front lines has not stopped.
“On the western front, there were intermittent clashes around dawn. The northern fronts were relatively calm, but still saw sporadic fighting. There has been a notable escalation in hostilities around Jabal Saber and Jabal Habashi, along with villages there, which are under siege,” he said.
“The governor of Taiz said that they were being hit by extremely heavy shelling, with hundreds of shells falling on residential neighbourhoods,” Al-Yamani added.
He explained that the governor had issued a “distress call” and urged for the siege on civilians to end as villages were completely cut off and residents unable to leave or enter.
“Aircraft can be heard frequently over the city, which remains under a suffocating siege, with no medical supplies, water or fuel getting in.”
Still, attacks have continued with no sign of slowing , and humanitarian agencies warn of worsening conditions for civilians.
On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the kingdom’s eastern region. It later said two ballistic missiles launched towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh, were also intercepted and destroyed.
Al-Malki said on Friday that the coalition’s air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi cruise missile that targeted western Saudi Arabia.
