Saudi air defenses shoot down Houthi drone targeting Mecca

Saudi Arabia said its Royal Air Defence Forces destroyed a drone launched by Yemen's Houthi movement before it could enter the restricted airspace over Mecca on Tuesday evening. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the hostile aircraft was intercepted and that any threat to the two holy mosques and the pilgrims who visit them constitutes a “red line”.

The Saudi authorities issued a short-lived security alert for Mecca, the first such warning in nearly a decade, and temporarily extended alerts to the cities of Taif and Jeddah. The alert was lifted within minutes after the drone was neutralised.

The Houthi side denied targeting the holy city. A military source speaking to Yemen’s SABA news agency said, “We categorically deny that there is any threat from Yemen directed at the city of Mecca or any other holy sites,” and described the Saudi claim as misinformation.

The incident comes amid a renewed wave of hostilities that began in early September, when the Iran-aligned group launched missiles and drones at multiple locations in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has said it will respond firmly to any Houthi strikes that cause civilian casualties, referencing recent attacks that injured 13 people in the southern cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif.