Saudi air defense forces intercepted a drone south of Mecca. Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Arab Coalition, said the drone was detected and destroyed before it entered Mecca’s restricted airspace.
Al-Maliki said the incident occurred at around 6:50 p.m. the previous day and that the aircraft was stopped south of the city of Mecca. He said the drone had been launched by the Houthis.
Al-Maliki calls it a second attempt to target Mecca
The coalition spokesman claimed that the incident was the second attempt to target Mecca following the ballistic missile attack on July 27, 2017. Al-Maliki alleged that actions targeting holy sites were intended to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims.
Describing the safety of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims as a red line, Al-Maliki said the Coalition Forces Command would take the necessary and deterrent measures against Houthi actions.
Yahya Saree claims an F-15 was hit
Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, also claimed that a Saudi F-15 fighter jet was hit by a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile over Yemen’s Marib province.
Saree alleged that other F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets that arrived in the area to search for the wreckage were also targeted and forced to leave the area.
The Houthi spokesman also said that more than 450 airstrikes had been carried out over the past week against Yemen’s Taiz, Lahij, Al Jawf, Hajjah, Marib, Saada and Al Bayda provinces by Saudi F-15 and Typhoon aircraft. Saree said Yemen’s airspace would remain closed to all forms of violation and attack.
Houthis deny targeting Mecca
Yahya Saree claimed that statements saying Mecca had been targeted did not reflect the truth. Saree said that only oil facilities and military bases had been targeted in attacks against Saudi Arabia, adding that the Houthis followed a strategy entirely removed from holy sites.
A report by the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah television said a military source in Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis, stated that there was no threat originating from Yemen against Mecca or the holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
