Saudi Arabia reports interception of Houthi drone targeting Mecca

Houthis deny targeting the region of the Muslim holy city as hostilities continue to escalate.The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has reported that it intercepted a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region.The drone was “intercepted and destroyed” on Friday morning, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a social media post. It was also reported that a missile aimed at western Saudi Arabia was earlier brought down, as hostilities between the Riyadh-backed Yemen government and Iran-backed Houthis continue to escalate.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Mecca defence alliance members in Tehran to defuse Iran-US, Yemen tensionslist 2 of 3Egyptian parliament authorises military aid for Saudi Arabialist 3 of 3Saudi-led coalition says it downed Houthi missiles, drones aimed at kingdomend of listA Houthi spokesperson denied targeting the Muslim holy city or surrounding region, reiterating that the group’s cross-border attacks remain strictly focused on Saudi energy and military infrastructure.The Saudi-led coalition has previously accused the Houthis of launching drones towards Islam’s two holiest cities: Mecca and Medina.“Our operations target [Saudi] oil facilities and military bases, and there is no longer anyone in this world who believes these fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal Al Saud regime,” the Houthi spokesman wrote.Still, attacks have continued with no sign of slowing, and humanitarian agencies warn of worsening conditions for civilians.On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the kingdom’s eastern region. It later said two ballistic missiles launched towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh, were also intercepted and destroyed.Al-Malki said on Friday that the coalition’s air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi cruise missile that targeted western Saudi Arabia.