Saudi Arabia says Houthi drone targeting Mecca destroyed

Saudi Arabia has said that a drone launched by the Houthi rebel group towards Mecca was intercepted on Tuesday, although the Houthis denied targeting Mecca.

The country said the drone was intercepted and destroyed, preventing an escalation that could threaten the holy city.

The Saudi-led coalition spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, said the Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces successfully intercepted the drone before it entered restricted airspace.

The Saudi-led coalition is a multinational military alliance formed in 2015 and led by Saudi Arabia to fight the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Al Jazeera reports that Saudi Arabia issued a security alert on Tuesday in the holy city of Mecca to alert worshippers of potential danger.

It is the first time in nearly a decade that a security alert has been issued in Mecca. The last alert was in 2017, when Saudi authorities said they intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi movement toward the holy city.

Mecca is Islam’s holiest site and hosts the Kaaba, which attracts two billion Muslims yearly. Worshippers travel from across the world, including Nigeria and other African countries, to face the Kaaba and pray.

Mr Al-Maliki described the incident as an attempt to frighten worshippers and harm civilians.

He declared that the two holy mosques and pilgrims are a “red line.”

However, the Houthis have denied targeting the holy city and described the Saudi’s claim as misinformation.

Yemen’s SABA news agency reported that the rebel group rejected the claim that it posed a threat to the city of Mecca or any other Islamic holy sites.

The group declared that it does not target holy cities.

“We categorically deny that there is any threat from Yemen directed at the city of Mecca or any other holy sites,” it said.

Tension between Riyadh and the Houthis escalated in July after the rebels declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and seized control of critical nodes on the Bab al-Mandeb coastline. The Houthis said they want Saudi Arabia to lift its blockade of territories they control in Yemen.

The attack on Saudi’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, which damaged key facilities, worsened the global oil crisis caused by the US-Iran war that has been on since February.