Saudi-led coalition says cruise missile intercepted over Medina; Houthis deny firing it

The Saudi-led coalition announced on Thursday, 15 October 2026, that it had intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile over the Medina region, the second holiest city for Muslims. Turki al-Maliki, the coalition's spokesman, posted the news on X at about 12:38 Tehran time. The coalition did not say where the missile was fired from or what its target was, and it reported no casualties or damage.

Yemen's Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, immediately denied any attack on Medina. The group's military spokesman called the Saudi claim a lie and said the Houthis had previously pledged not to attack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. However, on 29 September the coalition had accused the Houthis of a drone attack on the Taybah electricity distribution station in Medina, a station that supplies power to the Prophet's Mosque. According to Turki al-Maliki, that attack knocked out one transformer but did not disrupt the power grid.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate

On the same Thursday the coalition also reported intercepting a drone over Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and on Wednesday it had announced the destruction of a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh. Over the past week the Houthis have stepped up their missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and energy facilities.

On Wednesday, shrapnel from intercepted Houthi missiles wounded four people in Riyadh and damaged 15 homes, and before that an Aramco office building in Dhahran had been targeted. The Islamic Republic has for years supported the Houthis with weapons, missile technology and money, and recent research shows the group uses Chinese components to build missiles similar to those of the Islamic Republic.

The interception of a cruise missile over Medina has drawn the war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia close to one of the holiest cities of the Islamic world.