Saudi air defences destroy Houthi drone near Makkah; coalition calls holy city a red line
The Houthis denied targeting Makkah as attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate and disrupt oil routes.
Source: Geo News · 16 September 2026, 6:31 am
Saudi air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah on Tuesday evening before it entered the restricted airspace over the city, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Wednesday.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said it was the second alleged Houthi attempt to target Makkah, after a ballistic missile launch the coalition reported in July 2017, and described the security of the city as a red line.
Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Farah called the allegation an outright lie in comments carried by the Houthi-run SABA news agency.
The Houthis have claimed several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, including an attack on an air base on Monday that coalition officials said wounded 13 civilians. The group has also taken control of parts of Yemen's Red Sea coast overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Saudi Arabia has blamed a separate pro-Iranian group based in Iraq for an attack on Friday that shut its East-West Pipeline, the 1,200-kilometre route it has relied on for exports while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted. Traders say a long closure could remove as much as 4% of global oil supply; US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said crude should be flowing through the pipeline within days.
