Look: Houthi Drone Attacks Power Station In Madinah, Saudi-Led Coalition Says
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday the Iran-backed group had attacked Taibah electricity distribution station in Madinah two days ago, putting one transformer out of service but without affecting the electricity network in the Muslim Holy City.
Recommended For YouThe coalition said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out Tuesday's attack. It said the station supplies electricity to the Prophet's Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the coalition's statement.
Saudi Arabia said two weeks ago it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah before it entered restricted airspace over the city. The coalition described that incident as the second Houthi attempt to target Makkah since 2017, while the Houthis denied targeting Makkah or any other Islamic holy site.
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The coalition said the Madinah attack was part of what it described as repeated Houthi attempts to target the Two Holy Mosques and "provoke" millions of Muslims worldwide. It said it would continue taking measures to protect the holy sites and pilgrims. "The Coalition continues to take and implement measures to deter the Terrorist Houthi Militia, ensuring the protection of the Two Holy Mosques and the safety of the pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah," Major General Turki Al Maliki, the Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said.
The latest escalation is the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. Hostilities resumed this year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, while Houthi forces also made major territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes in Yemen and backed government forces fighting to push back the Houthis.
Al Maliki and Inside the Haramain, which publishes news from Makkah and Madinah on X shared photos from the drone attack and damage to the Tainah power distribution station. Take a look:
Who are the Houthis?
Starting out in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shi'ite Muslim revival movement in north Yemen under the Houthi family, the group waged six wars against the government, building a strong local militia.
When Yemen's central state disintegrated during the 2011 Arab Spring, the Houthis took advantage, gaining more ground and developing a relationship with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
In 2014, the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, ousting the government, and halting a Gulf-backed political transition. That prompted a Saudi-led military intervention to support the government, leading to years of civil war that ground to a stalemate and a 2022 ceasefire.
The Houthis fired missiles and drones at Israel and international shipping in the Red Sea during Israel's war in Gaza from 2023-25 in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians.
With their closest ally Iran under attack by the United States since February 28, the Houthis have again been firing on Red Sea shipping as well as energy facilities inside Saudi Arabia.
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