Saudi coalition says intercepted Houthi drone in Makkah region

RIYADH: Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group in the Makkah region on Friday, an account the Iran-aligned group rejected, denying it had carried out any operation against Saudi territory.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki announced the interception in a post on X, saying a drone launched by the Houthi group had been destroyed in the region.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree dismissed the statement as a “massive and egregious fabrication”, saying the group had not launched any attack towards Saudi Arabia.

Saree said the Houthis’ operations targeted Saudi oil facilities and military bases.

The exchange of claims comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and forces backed by Saudi Arabia, with the Yemeni group intensifying attacks on Saudi targets and government-held areas in Yemen.

Houthis deny targeting holy cities

Saudi Arabia has previously reported Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Makkah region, while the group has repeatedly denied targeting Makkah and Madina, Islam’s two holiest cities.

The Houthis have carried out cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, targeting military installations, airports and energy infrastructure.

The group has also stepped up attacks on Saudi-backed government positions in Yemen, including in Aden, the southern city that serves as a stronghold for the internationally recognised government.

Fighting intensifies in Yemen

The latest developments follow a series of attacks in Yemen in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, strikes blamed on Saudi Arabia killed at least 14 people and wounded 10 others in Houthi-held areas of northwestern Jawf province, according to the Houthi broadcaster Almasirah. The reported casualties included women and children.

In a separate incident in Aden, a Houthi missile landed within the perimeter of the city’s airport, a local police source told AFP. The incident occurred shortly before the group called for the area to be evacuated.

The source said a Saudi military aircraft was at the airport when the missile struck but was not hit and took off shortly afterwards.

In a post on Telegram, Saree urged people at Aden airport to leave, claiming a Saudi military cargo plane was transporting weapons. The claim was not independently verified in the supplied material.

The Houthis have targeted Aden several times in recent weeks. Earlier attacks also struck areas within the airport perimeter, while a missile attack earlier this month hit the presidential palace in the city.

Yemen’s conflict has intensified since a fragile truce collapsed in July, triggering renewed attacks between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces. The escalation has added to regional tensions amid the wider Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.