Saudi coalition says Houthi drone destroyed near Mecca
- On Tuesday, Saudi-led coalition air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city.
- Recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including Monday's air base strike, preceded the drone interception as part of a campaign the group described as retaliation for Yemen air strikes.
- Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki called the security of Islam's two holiest sites a "red line," identifying this as the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca. A Houthi military source denied the group posed any threat to holy sites.
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, where both leaders confirmed their "shared commitment to ensuring freedom and security of maritime navigation" in the Red Sea.
- Houthi control of Yemen's Red Sea coast threatens Saudi oil exports and global energy markets, risking shipping passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical maritime choke point.
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Hitting the holy city for Muslim people would surpass a red line, said the army spokesman
Saudi air defenses have intercepted and destroyed a drone heading towards Mecca, launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Islam's main pilgrimage site, the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition said on Wednesday. The Yemeni rebels denied the attack.
The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that it destroyed a drone launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen to the holy city Mecca, which was denied by the pro-Iranian rebels, reports AFP. Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Saudi Royal Forces...
The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia stated on Wednesday that it had destroyed a drone launched towards the sacred city of Mecca by the Houthis rebels in Yemen, a group supported by Iran, which denied any attack. On Tuesday, Saudi air defences destroyed "a hostile drone launched by the Houthi terrorist militia before it entered the restricted airspace of the sacred capital of Islam," the alliance wrote in a statement, noting that the inter…
Saudi Arabia says it shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca, Islam’s holiest city
By Eyad Kourdi, Jessie Yeung, CNN (CNN) — Saudi Arabia said it shot down a Houthi drone on the outskirts of Islam’s holiest city Mecca on Tuesday –– prompting swift regional condemnation of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group. It’s the first time that the Houthis have targeted Mecca in almost a decade, since a ballistic
Saudi Arabia's military coalition claims to have intercepted a Houthi drone near the Holy City, a charge formally denied by Yemeni rebels Coalition
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