ALBAWABA- One person was killed and two others were injured Thursday after debris from a Houthi drone fell in Taif, western Saudi Arabia, following its interception and destruction by Saudi air defenses, Saudi Civil Defense said.
The fatality was a Yemeni resident, while a Saudi woman and a Pakistani resident were injured. The Pakistani national was in critical condition, according to Saudi authorities. Falling debris also damaged several buildings and vehicles in the area.
The incident was the first death reported in Saudi Arabia since a new wave of Houthi attacks intensified this month. Riyadh has reported more than 80 injuries from Houthi attacks during the latest escalation.
The latest incident comes amid a sharp escalation in fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces. The Houthis have made rapid territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while launching repeated drone and missile attacks toward Saudi Arabia. Saudi forces, in turn, have intensified airstrikes against Houthi positions in several Yemeni provinces.
Saudi Arabia allegedly said earlier this week that it had intercepted another Houthi drone near Mecca before it entered restricted airspace around the holy city. Saudi authorities described any threat to Mecca as a “red line.” The Houthis have denied targeting the holy city, with their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi calling the Saudi account false and saying the group does not target Islamic holy sites.
#الدفاع_المدني: سقوط شظايا اعتراض طائرة مسيّرة في محافظة الطائف نتج عنها حالة وفاة وإصابتان وأضرار مادية في عدد من المباني والمركبات. pic.twitter.com/2QltjNAlrF
The escalation has also produced conflicting claims over military losses. On Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib province with a surface-to-air missile and released video purportedly showing the aircraft’s wreckage. The Houthis have also claimed attacks against Saudi military and oil-related facilities, including targets in Yanbu and Khamis Mushait.
The renewed fighting marks a major deterioration in the relative calm that followed the 2022 truce in Yemen. The conflict began escalating again amid wider regional hostilities, with the Houthis expanding their control along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabia increasing military operations against them.
Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari is Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University-Global Center, Amman. A Yemeni academician with a Ph.D. in English "Comparative Literature" and two MA degrees, one in political science and the other in English, Dr. Al-Maswari possesses more than 17 years of extensive experience in university-level teaching, research, research reviewing, bilingual translation, and copy-writing...
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