Photo: Collected
After the holy city of Mecca, there has been an attack on Medina. The Saudi-led coalition said that the attack took place at an electricity distribution center in the city. The coalition blamed the Yemeni armed group Houthis for the attack. However, the Houthis directly denied the allegation.
The information about the attack in Medina was reported by Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera on Thursday (October 1).
It said that an attack on a power distribution center in Medina took place last Tuesday. A transformer was knocked out of service in the attack, but the power supply system was not disrupted.
The Saudi-led coalition claims that after investigating the incident and examining the wreckage of the drone used in the attack, they have confirmed that the attack was planned and carried out by the Houthis.
However, a military official from the group denied the allegations, calling them “lies,” according to a report by the Houthi-run news agency Saba.
The official said that Saudi Arabia could not provide any evidence to support the accusation of a Houthi attack in Mecca. He claimed that the accusation of an attack in Medina was made to cover up that fact.
The Saudi-led coalition claims that the attack in Medina is part of a series of Houthi attacks targeting Islam’s two holiest mosques, including the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque.
The alliance further claims that this is an attempt to incite Muslims around the world. The alliance also said that it will continue to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of holy places and worshippers.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia had alleged that the Houthis had launched a drone attack south of Mecca on the evening of September 15. However, the country’s air defense forces destroyed the drone.
The country warned that the security of the holy city of Mecca and its pilgrims would not be compromised under any circumstances.
However, the Houthis denied the attack was targeting Mecca. The group’s spokesman, Hazem al-Assad, rejected the Saudi claim in a post on social media, saying that Saudi Arabia had made similar allegations before.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday that it had detected and destroyed four drones launched by the Houthis over the southern city of Khamis Mushait and two ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait and another southern city, Jazan.
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces have reported heavy clashes in various areas of the country’s southwestern Taiz province, amid renewed tensions in Saudi Arabia, claiming dozens of Houthi fighters have been killed in the clashes.
Source: Al Jazeera