The Saudi-led military coalition said on Thursday it has intercepted another drone launched into the vicinity of the Muslim holy city of Mecca by the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen. The Houthis denied launching the attack.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition Joint Forces Command (CJFC), on Thursday announced the “interception and destruction of a drone in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region launched by the terrorist Houthi militia.”
A supporter of Yemen’s Houthi rebels carries his rifle during a rally in support of the group in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, October 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
“Makkah al-Mukarramah” is the official Saudi name for Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. Muslims are supposed to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives, and over 1.5 million pilgrims visit the city every year.
The Saudi coalition reported intercepting a Houthi drone near Mecca on September 15, an attack widely condemned by the Muslim world. A Houthi cruise missile was shot down near Islam’s second holy city of Medina, Saudi Arabia, on October 15.
The Houthis denied launching both of these earlier attacks, and on Friday, the insurgents denied launching the new attack on Mecca.
This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on Saturday, October 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)
“Our operations target 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,” said Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree, forgetting to mention that the insurgents also target Saudi civilian airports.
The Houthis took responsibility for attacking three Saudi oil facilities on Thursday, including the kingdom’s largest at Ras Tanura, along with two airports the Houthis have bombed before, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
Saudi civil defense officials said two Houthi missiles launched at Riyadh were intercepted in flight, plus a cruise missile targeting something in western Saudi Arabia. Ground teams were put on alert for falling debris from the missiles.
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