Saudi Arabia accuses Houthis of launching attacks on Mecca

Saudi Arabia claimed that the Houthis, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, targeted Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, in an airstrike on Tuesday.Saudi air defense forces said they intercepted a Houthi drone on Tuesday evening in the airspace south of Mecca, destroying the strike drone before it could reach the city Muslims deem holy. Maj. Gen. Turki al Maliki, a Royal Saudi Air Force spokesman, called the city and the holy mosques within the city a “red line” in the conflict.Al Maliki said the Saudis would not be deterred from taking any next steps to prevent another attack from the Yemen-based terrorist group, claiming it was the Houthis’ second known attack on Mecca, according to the Saudi Gazette. Muslims are required to visit Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, once in their lifetime in a pilgrimage called the Hajj. Tensions between the Saudis and Houthis have spiked in recent weeks, with the Houthis notably striking the key East-West oil pipeline, sending a ripple effect through energy markets as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has appealed to the United States for help with the intensified Houthi offensive. The tensions escalated in July, after what had largely been a yearslong period of peace. The Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, then attacked Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea in response to an initial July attack on Sanaa Airport, where a Houthi delegation was landing, that was thought to be either carried out by the Saudis or anti-Houthi Yemeni air forces.The Houthis have seized several islands in the Red Sea, and the Saudis have sought to keep the crucial Bab el Mandeb Strait open to ships for the stability of the worldwide oil and energy markets. That effort became harder after Houthis seized Perim Island, which is a key chokepoint in the Bab el Mandeb Strait.Bin Salman visited Cairo on Tuesday to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el Sisi about the security of the Red Sea. Salman said in a statement that the two leaders discussed “their shared commitment to ensuring freedom and security of maritime navigation” in the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, according to the Associated Press.TO STOP THE HOUTHIS, RECOGNIZE SOMALILAND AND SOUTH ARABIAThe U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia updated its travel advisory to a Level 3 “reconsider travel” advisory on Wednesday.“Reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to risk of Iranian drone and missile targeting of American interests, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans, and local laws regarding social media activity. Some areas have increased risk,” the embassy wrote in the notification.