Saudi coalition intercepts drones near Madinah, Eastern regions

The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday it had intercepted and destroyed four drones launched towards Saudi Arabia, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued attacks that have killed civilians and military recruits.

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki Al Maliki said the drones were intercepted near the holy city of Madinah and the Eastern Province regions.

In a separate statement, he said coalition forces had also destroyed a drone heading towards the eastern region.

Meanwhile, a Houthi strike on a residential area in Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, killed two teenage girls on Tuesday, highlighting the risks facing civilians as fighting intensifies.

The Houthis have largely encircled Taiz, cutting off most supply routes and leaving residents struggling to obtain food and other necessities as prices soar.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Tuesday that the siege was putting civilians at grave risk.

The attack came a day after a Houthi strike on a government military camp killed 73 recruits, according to a senior Yemeni government official, marking the deadliest such attack since the conflict intensified over the summer.

Fighting escalated in July when forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport, shattering a ceasefire agreement reached in 2022 that had largely halted fighting in the country’s civil war.