Saudi air defences have intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group near the holy city of Mecca, the Saudi-led coalition said.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the drone was intercepted around 6.50 p.m. local time (1550GMT) on Tuesday before entering restricted airspace, with its wreckage falling south of Islam’s holiest city.
"The Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone launched by the Terrorist Houthi Militia before it entered the Prohibited Airspace Area of the Holy City of 'Makkah Al-Mukarramah'", read a statement, using another name for Mecca, posted on X by the coalition's spokesman Turki al-Maliki.
Al-Malki described the incident as the Houthis’ second attempt to target Mecca, citing a ballistic missile launched toward the city on July 27, 2017.
He said the security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims was a “red line,” vowing that the coalition would take measures to deter further attacks.
Meanwhile, Houthis rejected the Saudi-led coalition's report, claiming that the group did not send a drone toward Mecca.
War grinds on
The incident came a day after the coalition said 13 civilians were injured in missile and drone attacks by the Houthis on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, with seven homes and two vehicles damaged.
Confrontations between Yemen's internationally recognised government forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July following years of relative calm.
The country has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
Maritime blockade
The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with government forces since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.
The group seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al Mandab Strait last week, which has become vital as the wider US war with Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz, in a significant blow to Yemeni government forces.
It has also targeted Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure, the world's leading crude exporter, pushing oil prices above the $100 threshold.
