Saudi Arabia’s air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Wednesday.
The drone was intercepted at about 6.50pm local time on Tuesday, coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki Al Malki said in a statement. He said it was the second Houthi attempt to attack Makkah after a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.
The security of Makkah, its visitors and pilgrims was a "red line", Maj Gen Al Malki said. He added that coalition forces would take measures against the Iran-backed Houthis and their "hostile and terrorist behaviour".
The Houthis denied attacking the holy city.
Mohammed Al Farah, a member of the Houthi political bureau, said claims the group had launched an attack on Makkah were "an outright lie", according to a statement carried by the Houthi-run Saba news agency on Tuesday night. He accused Saudi Arabia of using the allegation to mobilise Muslims against Yemen and divert attention from the conflict.
Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree also dismissed the allegation. "The fabrications and lies ... regarding targeting Makkah cannot deceive anyone," he said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation condemned the Houthi attacks on Makkah and the Madinah region, saying they breached the sanctity of Islamic holy sites, threatened civilians and spread fear among Muslims worldwide.
The Jeddah-based OIC said attacks on holy sites, mosques and civilian infrastructure constitute terrorism and "run counter to Islamic values and to international norms, principles and law", expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he described as a "dastardly and heinous" attempted attack on Makkah. "The people of Pakistan are saddened and perturbed by this outrageous act," he said in a statement posted on X.
The Houthis have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia following rapid advances along Yemen's western coastline, drawing Riyadh deeper into the wider regional conflict.
The Saudi Civil Defence issued alerts for Makkah on Tuesday, among other cities including Abha and Khamis Mushait, amid heightened security concerns following recent Houthi missile and drone attacks.
The Houthis have seized positions along Yemen's Red Sea coast and strategic territory around the Bab Al Mandeb strait, one of the world's key maritime chokepoints. That has raised concerns over threats to shipping and Saudi oil exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted.
On Wednesday, the Houthis said Saudi aircraft had carried out more than 450 air strikes across Yemen over the past week. Brig Gen Saree said the strikes, conducted by F-15s and Typhoons operating from Khamis Mushait and Taif in Saudi Arabia, had caused civilian deaths and injuries. He did not provide a casualty figure.
He also claimed the Houthis shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet in Marib using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile. The claim could not immediately be independently verified. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the loss of a F-15.
Saudi Arabia has also faced attacks on critical energy infrastructure. The kingdom shut its 1,200km East-West oil pipeline last week after drone attacks that Saudi authorities said originated in Iraq. The pipeline links oil-producing areas in the east with the Red Sea port of Yanbu and has become increasingly important owing to the sharp drop in ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest confrontation follows a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi targets. The group has said some of its attacks were carried out in retaliation for Saudi strikes on Yemen, while Riyadh has sought greater international support as the conflict expanded.
