Saudi coalition says Houthi drone hit Medina power station
Saudi-led coalition officials say a Houthi drone hit Medina’s Taibah power station that serves the Prophet’s Mosque area. The strike raises holy-city stakes for households and pilgrims across the Muslim world. One transformer went offline without a wider blackout; the Houthis deny involvement.
Saudi-led coalition officials say Yemen’s Houthis struck Medina’s Taibah electricity distribution station with a drone at 5:11 a.m. on Sept. 29, damaging a transformer that supplied power to the Prophet’s Mosque area. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said wreckage and after-action review confirmed Houthi involvement. France 24, Reuters, and Al Arabiya carried the coalition account.
The wider Medina grid kept running after one transformer was taken out of service. Still, the target — infrastructure tied to one of Islam’s holiest mosques — drew condemnation from Turkey, Qatar, the Arab League, and Al-Azhar. A senior Houthi official rejected claims the movement targeted Islamic holy sites, Houthi media reported.
The accusation landed as fighting intensified inside Yemen. AFP correspondents heard explosions in Sanaa; Yemeni government forces said they struck Houthi targets in Sanaa, Saada, and Taiz. Houthis control Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast and have launched drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia since the kingdom’s 2015 intervention, but attacks linked to the holy cities are rare.
Backstory: Medina is Islam’s second-holiest city after Mecca. Engage: Saudi coalition statements, Houthi denials, and any independent forensics on the drone wreckage.
What we know:
Coalition attributes a Sept. 29 drone hit on Taibah station to Houthis; one transformer offline; mosque-area supply cited; Houthis deny; regional capitals condemned the alleged strike.
What we don’t:
Independent forensic confirmation beyond coalition evidence claims; casualty tally if any; whether the strike was intended as a holy-site signal or a grid disruption.
Agree (full): Reuters, France 24, and Al Arabiya agree the coalition publicly blamed Houthis for a Medina power-station drone strike and that Houthis deny it.
Differ (full): Riyadh frames a terrorist hit on civilian holy-city infrastructure; Houthi media rejects any attack on Islamic holy sites.
Where outlets agree Reuters, France 24, and Al Arabiya agree the Saudi-led coalition blamed Houthis for a drone strike on Medina’s Taibah power station and that Houthis denied involvement.
Where they differ The coalition says wreckage proves a Houthi attack on mosque-area power supply; Houthi officials reject any strike on Islamic holy sites.