Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) besieged the people of Ta'if for seventeen days and set up a mangonel against them. Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This hadith used to be objected to when he narrated it.
Al-Shaykh said: The objection was to the chain being connected, and it is also possible that what was objected to was the hurling of stones with mangonels on that day. Ibn Abi Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) besieged them for a month. I said: Did it reach you that he (peace and blessings be upon him) pelted them with stones by mangonel? He denied it and said: "This is not known."
Makhul (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set up mangonels against the people of Ta'if.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18120