Houthi Drone Intercepted Near Mecca Amid Escalating Regional Tensions
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen intercepted a Houthi drone near Mecca on September 15, sparking fears of escalating regional tensions. The incident marked the second attempt by the Houthis to attack the holy city, with the previous occurrence dating back to July 2017 when they launched a ballistic missile.
Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, said that the drone was intercepted before it entered the restricted airspace over Mecca. Al-Maliki emphasized that the security of Mecca is a 'red line' for Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi representatives denied targeting Mecca and accused the accusation as an outright lie. The incident follows a series of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, including strikes on a military air base on Monday, which wounded 13 civilians.
The conflict has had a significant impact on global energy markets, with disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi-led coalition accused a separate Iran-backed group based in Iraq of carrying out an attack on the East-West oil pipeline, which links Saudi Arabia's oil fields to the Red Sea coast.