Fighting in Yemen intensified on Wednesday as the Houthis denied Saudi claims that the group had launched a drone towards Mecca, while claiming attacks on Saudi sites and striking at the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government in Aden.

A Houthi spokesperson rejected what he called Saudi “lies” about a drone aimed at Mecca, saying a drone had instead hit a pumping station in Yanbu, and that Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport had been targeted with three cruise missiles.

Claims and counter-claims

The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday that it had intercepted three cruise missiles headed towards the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles directed towards western Saudi Arabia. The competing accounts could not be independently verified.

Fighting inside Yemen has grown heavier since September, after Houthi advances towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Reuters.

Strikes on Aden

In Aden, the Houthis said they had struck a Saudi-led coalition military command and control centre in the al-Buraiqa district with several ballistic missiles. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the facility directed coalition reinforcements on fronts in Lahij, al-Dhale and Taiz.

Two Yemeni security sources told AFP two missiles targeted a coalition camp in western Aden, while a drone aimed at a Yemeni forces camp in the city centre was intercepted. Yemen's Information Minister Salem al-Awalqi accused the Houthis of repeatedly shelling the densely populated al-Buraiqa district.

A rising human toll

Yemen's army said its forces had carried out 773 artillery attacks, 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks in al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz, killing or wounding at least 138 Houthi fighters. The World Health Organization put casualties at 11,755 by 8 November — 2,098 killed and 9,657 wounded — with more than 320,000 people displaced since 1 August. Source: Reuters