Saudi Arabia Says Missile Debris Fell Near Mecca as the Houthis Deny Targeting the City and Yemen's Fighting Flares

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that debris from two ballistic missiles it had intercepted fell in the Mecca region, in the province of Islam's holiest city. No casualties were reported, according to Reuters via Daily Maverick. The Houthis rejected the claim that they were aiming at Mecca.

We reported on Monday on Syria's denial that it sent troops to Yemen and a new Saudi defence deal; since then the exchange of fire has become more direct.

What did Saudi Arabia say fell near Mecca?

Saudi state television named the impact areas as the village of Sabuhah, about 35 km northeast of the Grand Mosque, and Wadi al-Maghmas, about 21 km to its east, per Reuters. Saudi civil defence said the missiles were fired toward the region and destroyed, and called the targeting of civilian objects a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The Saudi-led coalition separately said it destroyed three cruise missiles headed for the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles pointed west, according to Cyprus Mail, which carried the Reuters report on Wednesday evening. It was the second straight day of Houthi launches at Riyadh.

How do the Houthis answer?

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied targeting Mecca, saying the group's operations target oil facilities and military bases. The Houthis said King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was fired on with three cruise missiles, and that a drone hit a pumping station in Yanbu, a claim Saudi Arabia did not confirm, per Al Jazeera and Cyprus Mail. Cyprus Mail also noted that a Houthi attack on the same airport last month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, and that a Sunday attack damaged an Aramco administrative building in Riyadh.

What is happening on the ground in Yemen?

Yemen's army spokesman, Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, said at least 138 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded. He listed 773 artillery attacks, 44 drone strikes, 37 rocket attacks and 23 coalition airstrikes across al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz, reported Al Jazeera. Information Minister Salem al-Awalqi accused the Houthis of shelling Aden's al-Buraiqa district, while Saree said the group had hit a coalition command centre there with ballistic missiles. These are claims from the warring parties and have not been independently verified.

The World Health Organization, in figures to 8 November cited by Al Jazeera, counted 11,755 casualties in the current escalation, including 2,098 killed and 9,657 wounded, with more than 2,000 casualties in nine days. More than 320,000 people have been displaced since 1 August, nearly 16,000 of them in the past week, and fuel shortages are disrupting ambulance services in Taiz. Watch for whether Riyadh answers with strikes on Sanaa, and whether the Red Sea shipping threat at Bab el-Mandeb moves from warning to action.