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Saudi Arabia Says It Downed Houthi Drone Near Mecca Rebels Deny It

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Saudi Arabia says it destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday. The Iran-backed group denies targeting the holy city and reports downing a Saudi jet.

Saudi Arabia says its air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday evening, drawing sharp condemnation over an alleged strike near the holiest site in Islam. The account came from Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen, who branded the attempted attack on the city a "disgraceful act".

Mecca houses Islam's most sacred shrine and serves as the destination for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation described strikes aimed at Mecca and at Medina province, which contains the faith's second holiest site, as an "unacceptable and intolerable transgression".

The Houthis flatly rejected the claim. The Iran-backed movement, which holds much of western Yemen, said Saudi authorities were peddling "fabrications and lies" and insisted it had never aimed anything at the holy city. Military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group's weapons were pointed only at economic and military targets. "There is no threat whatsoever from Yemen to the holy sites," he said. "Our operations target their oil facilities and military bases, and are far removed from the holy places."

Sarea said the recent barrage of drones and missiles fired at the kingdom was a response to more than 450 Saudi air raids on Houthi-held territory over the previous week. He also claimed the group had brought down a Saudi fighter jet over Marib province, an assertion the coalition did not directly address.

Maliki, for his part, warned that coalition forces would "not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia and its hostile and terrorist behaviour".

The exchange unfolded as Saudi Arabia sent out a run of short security warnings on Tuesday flagging incoming projectiles over several western districts, among them Mecca and the port city of Jeddah, the kingdom's second largest. Adding to the sense of alarm, the US embassy in Saudi Arabia told Americans to "reconsider travel", noting that Houthi strikes had reached cities, infrastructure, airports, military installations, diplomatic premises and energy sites.

Red Sea Gains

The escalation follows a rapid Houthi advance along Yemen's Red Sea shoreline, where the group has pushed Saudi-backed pro-government fighters out of large areas. In the past week alone the rebels took the port of Mokha and Perim Island, which sits in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. That narrow passage forms the southern entrance to the trade corridor connecting Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

The Houthis said they had no quarrel with international shipping but repeated a threat to go after vessels belonging to Saudi Arabia. That threat carries added weight because the kingdom has leaned on Red Sea routes for its oil exports after the war between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Pipeline Damage

Saudi Arabia's energy network has taken a further blow. Its East-West Pipeline, used to move crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, had to be shut down after it was heavily damaged in a strike the kingdom pinned on Iran-aligned militias operating in Iraq. Some analysts believe repairs could stretch beyond a month. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright offered a far more optimistic timeline on Tuesday, forecasting that crude would move through the line again within days.

The crisis has drawn Riyadh's leadership into direct appeals to Washington. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler, has personally urged President Donald Trump to order military strikes against the Houthis, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke to CBS News. Trump has so far kept the US military out of direct combat, instead offering to help with intelligence and targeting, those sources said.

A senior figure in the Trump administration told the BBC the two governments remained in close contact, saying: "We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia."

Houthi drone Mecca, Saudi Arabia Yemen war, Turki al-Maliki, Yahya Sarea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, Mohammed bin Salman Trump, East-West Pipeline, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

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