Taif: First Death in Saudi Arabia From Houthi Attacks

Saudi Civil Defense said on Thursday, September 17, that parts of an intercepted Houthi drone came down in Taif province in western Saudi Arabia, killing one person and injuring two others. The man who died was a Yemeni national living in the kingdom, while a Saudi woman and a man of Pakistani origin were wounded, with the agency saying the latter is in critical condition. Debris from the drone damaged buildings and cars, and civil defense did not specify the exact time of the incident.

This is the first death Saudi Arabia has officially confirmed since the Houthis resumed attacks on the kingdom in early September. Srpske Novine previously reported that Saudi Arabia shot down a drone near Mecca, while the Houthis denied at the time that they had targeted the holy city.

The dispute over the drone near Mecca

The strike on Taif came two days after the incident near Mecca. Riyadh said on Tuesday that its air defenses had intercepted a Houthi drone before it entered the restricted airspace over the holy city, calling it a crossing of a red line tied to the security of shrines sacred to all Muslims. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi rejected that claim in a televised address on Thursday. “This is a vile lie,” he said, dismissing the Saudi allegations as propaganda.

Houthi-controlled television reported the same day on Saudi airstrikes in Hajjah province, along the border and the Red Sea coast, and around Taiz. The Houthis claim Saudi aircraft targeted three telecommunications towers in Taiz province, where, according to those claims, one civilian was killed, while one person was wounded in the town of Abs.

Al Jazeera, citing Houthi media, reported on Thursday a total of five people killed in the exchange of strikes between Riyadh and Sanaa, including three children. Houthi broadcaster Al Masirah said the children died in strikes carried out by forces backed by Saudi Arabia, a reference to forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Neither side has independently confirmed these claims.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said on X that it expressed absolute solidarity with the “brotherly” Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and condemned the Houthi attacks on Taif. Bahrain said it strongly condemns the continuation of Houthi terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia and the targeting of civilians in Taif province. In Brussels, European Commission foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni called on the Houthis to halt all military activity, voicing full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on X that any attack on Islamic holy sites, Mecca in particular, amounts to a condemned act, but added that the claim alone that a drone bound for Mecca had been intercepted is not enough to blame any specific side for it.

How many people have actually been killed and displaced

The Houthis released footage on Wednesday that they say shows the wreckage of a downed Saudi F-15 in Marib province, without specifying when the incident occurred. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the footage, and the Saudi side has not commented on the claim.

Figures on the number of people displaced in Yemen vary by source. The Associated Press puts the number displaced by the renewed fighting at least 125,000, while the International Organization for Migration told Reuters the figure stands at 112,000 displaced in the past two weeks alone. Reuters also reported that nearly 3,000 people crossed the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti in less than a week.

The Houthi leader called on Thursday for mass protests on Friday in Sanaa and areas under the group’s control, saying they were meant to show support for the defense of the holy mosques, and demanded an end to the Saudi blockade of Yemen. Saudi Arabia has not so far announced a broader military campaign against the Houthis, with regional officials estimating that the kingdom is running low on missile interceptors and is seeking help from its allies.