Saudi Arabia shoots down drone headed toward Mecca, Houthis deny involvement

The Saudi-led coalition said it had shot down a drone suspected of flying toward Mecca, further escalating tensions with Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Turki al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesperson, said the unmanned aircraft was intercepted and destroyed before reaching its suspected destination.

Saudi authorities said the drone had been launched by the Houthi rebels and was targeting one of Saudi Arabia’s most important areas.

The Houthis have categorically denied the claim. Yahya Saree, the group’s spokesperson, said no military operation had been carried out against Saudi territory that day. He described reports that the drone had been detected in Mecca’s airspace as “a big and serious lie.”

The Saudi coalition reported another incident, saying earlier that it had destroyed a missile suspected of being launched by the Houthis toward western Saudi Arabia.

The developments come amid heightened tensions, with both sides reporting attacks and military actions against each other in recent days.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been involved in the war in Yemen since March 2015, when the coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognized government.

The conflict escalated after the Houthi rebels took control of the capital, Sana, in September 2014. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war for more than a decade since then.