Cruise missile heading towards Medina destroyed, says Saudi Arabia; Houthis deny attack

Coalition spokesperson major general Turki al-Maliki announced the interception on the social media platform X (Representative image: Reuters).

A missile heading towards the Saudi Arabia‘s Medina region was intercepted and destroyed, Saudi led coalition, which is on war with Houthis in Yemen, claimed on Thursday.Coalition spokesperson major general Turki al-Maliki announced the interception on the social media platform X.“Coalition: Interception and destruction of a cruise missile in the Medina region,” Maliki wrote.No further information was shared regarding who launched the missile or its intended targetMeanwhile, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree has clarified that no strikes were launched towards the Medina region, nullifying the Saudi claims.“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they did not carry out today any targeting operation directed toward Saudi territories,” Saree wrote on X.“What the Saudi enemy claims regarding targeting toward the city of Medina is a great and immense falsehood,” he added.The remarks come amid intense exchange of airstrikes between Houthis and coalition forces, with each targeting other’s airport infrastructure.According to Turkish news agency Anadolu, Thursday’s incident came hours after the coalition claimed intercepting and destroying a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.Previously Saudi Arabia accused the Iran-aligned group of targeting the cities of Mecca and Medina, which are considered sacred by the Muslims.Houthis, on the other hand, had exempted the regions from strikes, while claiming every other air infrastructure to be on their radar.On Wednesday, the coalition announced that it had destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched towards the Saudi capital Riyadh.Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition supporting Yemen’s government against the Houthis since 2015. The group has controlled the capital Sanaa and several provinces since 2014.