Saudi Arabia Says It Downed Houthi Drone Bound for Mecca; Rebels Deny

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Wednesday before it could enter the city's prohibited airspace. The coalition accused the Iran-backed rebels of targeting Islam's holiest site, home to the Grand Mosque.

Houthi politburo member Hazem al-Assad rejected the claim on X, calling it "a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone." The rebels have denied previous Saudi allegations of attacks on Mecca.

“The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line”

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of 57 Muslim countries, condemned what it described as a "heinous" attack that profanes holy sites and offends Muslims worldwide. The coalition warned that security of the Two Holy Mosques is a "red line" and vowed deterrent retaliation.

Saudi Civil Defence issued air-raid alerts Tuesday across Mecca, Jeddah, Taif and three other western regions — the first such alert for Mecca since the regional war escalated in February. Alerts were lifted hours later after the danger passed.

The incident follows a wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes from Yemen on Monday that wounded 13 people in southern Saudi Arabia. Fighting reignited in July when Houthis launched a major offensive against government forces, seizing Yemen's entire Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait last week.

The United Nations says 82,000 people have been displaced since September. The U.S. embassy in Riyadh advised American citizens to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia and avoid the Yemeni border area entirely.