Houthis deny targeting Makkah and Madinah, claim attacks on Saudi oil sites and airports

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi armed group has denied reports of attacks on Islam's two holy cities, Makkah and Madinah. Saudi Arabia had earlier said missiles fired towards those two regions had been intercepted and debris had fallen in several places.

Amid the exchange of statements on Saturday, the Houthis claimed attacks on various Saudi oil facilities and airports. Yemen's internationally recognised government, meanwhile, said a missile attack had taken place on a coastguard facility in the southern port city of Aden.

The Houthis said their military operations were directed at Saudi oil facilities and military sites. When they carry out such attacks, they announce them publicly, they said. From that position, the group denied the allegation of targeting Makkah and Madinah.

Saudi Arabia's civil defence department said fragments of two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in the Makkah and Madinah regions. Debris was also reported near Makkah as well as in Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh, it said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari claimed their forces had attacked multiple facilities in Saudi Arabia. His list of targets included Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu.

The same claim said the Rabigh oil refinery, a crude oil pumping station and the East-West Pipeline were also targets. Those facilities are important parts of Saudi energy infrastructure.

Sari also claimed attacks on Dammam's King Fahd International Airport, an airport in Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. In other words, the Houthis named three types of target together — airports, an airbase and oil facilities.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said two ballistic missiles fired towards Yanbu and Taif had been destroyed. Saudi authorities did not directly respond to the Houthi claims about the other targets.

It is not clear whether any of the attacks hit their intended targets or whether they too were intercepted. Saudi authorities only said missile debris had fallen in various places in the country, including around Rabigh — where the Houthis claimed to have targeted an oil refinery.

Earlier on Saturday, Saudi civil defence had warned residents of Taif, Yanbu, Makkah and Jeddah about possible danger. About 10 minutes later, the agency said the danger had passed.

All in all, the two sides' statements on the same events stand in completely different places — the Houthis claim attacks on oil and military sites but deny targeting the two holy cities, while the Saudi side speaks of intercepting missiles and falling debris. Whether any attack hit its target is still not confirmed.