Saudi Coalition Intercepts Cruise Missile Over Madinah

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday, October 15, that it intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile over the Madinah region in western Saudi Arabia. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki announced the interception in a brief statement on X, which was also carried by Saudi state media. The statement did not identify the missile’s launch point, who fired it or its intended target, and gave no information on casualties or damage.

Related Incidents

• Hours earlier, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

• A day earlier, it said it had destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh.

• The coalition had earlier accused the Houthis of a drone attack on the Taibah electricity distribution station in Madinah on September 29. According to al-Maliki, it put a transformer out of service but did not disrupt the electricity grid. The facility supplies power to the Prophet’s Mosque.

Background

Madinah is home to Masjid-e-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque), one of Islam’s holiest sites. The interception comes amid intensified Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, with recent incidents involving airports and energy facilities. Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since 2015, and the Iran-aligned group has controlled Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and several provinces since 2014.