Houthi Drone Over Medina: Coalition Says It Was Destroyed

Coalition Says It Destroyed Houthi Drone Over Medina as Yemen Reports Missile Attack on Aden Palace

Houthi drone over Medina: the Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed one on October 30, as Yemen’s government says missiles targeted Aden’s Maashiq palace.

Patriot Interceptor Launched During Exercise in Saudi Arabia. A MIM-104 Patriot interceptor is fired at the Shamal 2 Range near King Khalid Military City during the U.S.-Saudi exercise Red Sands 25 on September 9, 2025; file photo.U.S. Army USARCENT photo by Sgt. David Gordon (public domain)

Lucas VaneDirector and Chief EditorOctober 31, 20263 min read

The Saudi-led coalition has reported that its air defences destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, widely known as the Houthis, over the Medina region on the evening of October 30, the fourth Houthi weapon it said it had brought down over the kingdom that day. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki did not state the drone’s target or whether debris caused damage, and the movement denied any attack on the kingdom. The day had begun with a cruise missile destroyed as it flew toward western Saudi Arabia, followed by a drone over the Mecca region and a ballistic missile aimed at the southern region. The coalition has now placed Houthi drones over the regions of both of Islam’s holiest cities within a single day, a significant escalation in the claims Riyadh is making against the movement.

The Prophet's Mosque in Medina with its green dome and minarets, pilgrims walking across the courtyard — The Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims cross the courtyard of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina on October 17, 2015; file photo.Photo: GusJuned via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped; crops shared under the same licence)

The same evening, Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the armed forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, stated on October 30 that the movement was attacking Aden International Airport and the Maashiq presidential palace with ballistic missiles, and argued that strikes on airports contradicted the movement’s stated aim of ending the blockade on Yemen. No casualty or damage figures had been made public by the early hours of October 31. The palace, the seat of the government in its temporary capital, was struck with missiles on October 15 in an attack that government officials said killed at least four people, and the movement fired on Aden airport twice on October 28, the first while a Saudi military aircraft was on the ground. Colonel al-Nuzaili also stated that government forces had carried out 1,087 operations against Houthi positions in recent hours as part of the Dawn of Yemen campaign, using warplanes, drones and artillery.

Aerial view of Aden's Crater district, dense low buildings below jagged volcanic mountains and a small bay — Crater District of Aden, Yemen’s Temporary Capital. The old city of Aden, seat of the internationally recognised government, seen from above in 2006; file photo.Photo: Christina Hecker @ Deutsch-Jemenitische Gesellschaft via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped; crops shared under the same licence)

The October 30 launches followed a day on which the coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh on the evening of October 29, after another was brought down over the Eastern Province, while the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed six operations against refineries, airports and a military headquarters that no Saudi authority has confirmed. The coalition has not said which systems made any of the interceptions, though the kingdom’s layered network is built around MIM-104 Patriot batteries, with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system added against higher altitude ballistic threats. Medina lies nearly 900 kilometres north of the Yemeni border, and a drone reaching it highlights how much airspace Saudi defences must now cover, particularly since a missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 10 killed more than a dozen people and injured over 300.

A THAAD interceptor rises from its launcher in white exhaust, framed by palm trees under a blue sky — Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Interceptor Launch. A THAAD interceptor is fired during the FTT-23 flight test at the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands on August 30, 2019; file photo.U.S. Department of Defense (public domain)

The Medina region has now featured in coalition statements at least three times in five weeks. On September 29 a drone struck the Taibah electricity distribution station that supplies power to the Prophet’s Mosque, putting one transformer out of service, an attack the coalition said its examination of the wreckage tied to the movement and which the movement denied. On October 21 the coalition reported intercepting five drones over the Eastern and Medina regions, with Brigadier General Saree stating that no drone had been sent toward Medina and that no military action had been taken against Saudi Arabia that day.