Saudi Arabia: missile debris falls in Mecca region after Houthi attack
Saudi civil defence says debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in Sabuhah village in the Mecca region. The Houthis deny targeting Mecca.
Saudi Arabia says debris from two ballistic missiles it shot down fell in the Mecca region early on Thursday, 12 November. Saudi civil defence blamed the launches on Yemen’s Houthis and said the fragments landed in Sabuhah village. It gave no details of damage or casualties. This comes a day after our report on the Houthi attack near Medina and the missiles fired at Riyadh.
What Saudi Arabia says
According to Saudi civil defence, quoted by Reuters and Anadolu, the two missiles were intercepted over western Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, said its forces had destroyed three cruise missiles aimed at Riyadh and two drones aimed at Mecca and the south of the kingdom. None of those statements gave casualty figures.
The Houthi side
The Houthis have not commented on Thursday’s debris. They have repeatedly denied aiming at Mecca, saying they target military and strategic sites in Saudi Arabia, GMA News reported. Their claims, like Saudi Arabia’s, cannot be independently checked.
How the fighting restarted
Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had largely kept to a truce since 2022. Reuters reports that fighting resumed earlier this year; Saudi air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have continued alongside the missile and drone attacks. Dawn reported on Wednesday that strikes hit Sanaa as Saudi Arabia intercepted more missiles.
Why it matters in Pakistan
Saudi Arabia is home to well over two million Pakistanis, and many more travel for Umrah every month. So far, Saudi authorities have not announced any change to Umrah or travel to Mecca. Pakistan’s Foreign Office and the embassy in Riyadh normally issue advice if that changes, so families should follow those official channels rather than forwarded messages. The Gulf fighting also feeds into oil prices, and with them petrol prices at home.
Watch for any statement on pilgrim safety from Saudi authorities, and for whether the coalition widens its strikes in Yemen.
