Yemeni forces dismiss Saudi claim about targeting holy city of Mecca

As Reported by Qods News AGency (Qodsna) "The Saudi regime is trying, through these allegations, to rally support for its brutal aggression against our great Yemeni people," Brigadier General Yahya Sare'e said in a posting on Facebook on Monday.

Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV reported that Saudi air defenses shot down a ballistic missile over the city of Taif, 65 kilometers east of Mecca, in the early hours of Monday. Another missile was launched at the port city of Jeddah, on the other side of Mecca. The first one had been directed toward Mecca, it said, without giving evidence.

The Yemeni official, however, stressed that by leveling such claims, the Saudi regime is trying by to rally support for his brutal aggression on its southern neighbor.

 

"The Saudi regime is again trying to exploit the religious status of Mecca to cover up its crimes against the Yemeni people," Sare'e said, adding, "We will not hesitate to announce our military operations and we do not need to wait for incorrect judgments about our goals and the timing of our operations."

On May 14, the Houthi Ansarullah movement conducted a retaliatory drone attack on pumping stations of the Saudi state oil company Aramco. The resistance movement said the operation was the first in a series targeting 300 vital spots. The group said military headquarters and facilities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also on the list.

Yemen's Ansarullah movement says its recent attack on a major Saudi oil facility was just the beginning of a larger operation.

Following the attack, Saudi Arabia stopped pumping crude oil on the major pipeline across the country.

In the latest round of airstrikes on Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition forces on Thursday targeted residential areas in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, where civilians, including children, were killed.