Saudi coalition accuses Houthis of drone attack at power station for Prophet's Mosque in Medina

The Saudi-led coalition has accused Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis of striking an electricity distribution station in Medina, Saudi Arabia. According to the coalition, a drone attack on September 29 targeted the Taibah electricity distribution station, which supplies power to the Prophet's Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites. The attack put one power transformer out of service but did not affect the wider electricity network.

The coalition, citing an investigation and examination of drone wreckage, said it had confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out the attack. However, the Houthis have denied involvement in the drone attack. The incident has drawn condemnation across the Muslim world, including from the United Arab Emirates, which has expressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and support for measures aimed at safeguarding its security and stability.

The recent escalation is part of ongoing fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis, which has intensified since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia since the start of the kingdom's intervention in Yemen's civil war in 2015.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, Channel News Asia, Free Malaysia Today, Daily Times, Gulf News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.