Middle East & North Africa
Debris from Houthi ballistic missiles fell on Mecca, Saudi Civil Defense says; Houthis deny targeting the holy cities
Saudi Civil Defense says two Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward Mecca and Medina were intercepted on October 24, with parts landing in Mecca. The Houthis call the claim a “great slander”.
Two Houthi ballistic missiles were intercepted over western Saudi Arabia on Saturday, October 24, and parts of them fell in Mecca. According to the statement of Saudi Civil Defense, the two missiles had been fired toward the regions of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.
Missile parts were found in the al-Mugamas valley, in the Mecca area, which the statement calls the “holy capital”. Fragments from the interception were found at three more sites: in the Nuzha district of Jeddah, in the Jalil valley of Taif and in Mastura, in the Rabigh province on the Red Sea coast. Civil Defense does not report casualties or damage and notes only that the established procedures were applied. The statement was published shortly before 20:00 Saudi time.
The Houthis: a “great slander”
About an hour later the Houthi armed forces rejected Riyadh’s version. What the “Saudi enemy” spreads about targeting “the holy areas of Mecca and Medina” is, they write, a “great and grave slander”, and these lies and claims “no longer deceive anyone”. Their operations, they add, target oil facilities and military bases and are announced as they happen.
Earlier the group had announced seven operations. Among the targets it names are King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Aramco’s facilities in Yanbu and the Rabigh refinery, in the province where debris also fell. In its statement it speaks of 100 Saudi airstrikes in the last 24 hours. On Friday, interceptions of missiles toward Riyadh and Khamis Mushait had preceded.
Gulf reaction
The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Albudaiwi, condemned the attack in the strongest terms. In his view, exposing Mecca to such dangers is an “extremely serious” violation of the sanctity of the holy places and a provocation of the feelings of Muslims worldwide. Albudaiwi asked the international community for a firm stance and effective measures to stop the attacks, stressing that Saudi Arabia’s security is an integral part of the security of the Council’s states.
It is not the first time the Houthis have been accused of threatening the holy cities. In September Saudi Arabia announced the downing of a drone south of Mecca, while in early October the Riyadh-led coalition attributed to the Houthis a drone strike on the Taiba power plant, which supplies the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Both times the group denied it.
The war between Riyadh and Sanaa has already caused casualties inside Saudi Arabia. On Saturday the Emir of the Eastern Province and his deputy visited the injured person still hospitalised after the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
The same day, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis had a telephone conversation with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan. According to the Saudi agency SPA, the two ministers reviewed bilateral relations and discussed developments in the region.