CAIRO, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, said a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
The security of Islam’s two holiest sites and of pilgrims was a “red line,” coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said early on Wednesday, adding that the coalition would take necessary deterrent measures against the Houthis.
Mecca, home to shrines sacred to Muslims worldwide, is Islam’s holiest city and the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which millions of Muslims undertake each year.
Malki described the incident as the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca, following what the coalition said was a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.
Saudi Arabia issued security alerts across parts of the country on Tuesday, including in Mecca and other cities, following a week of attacks by Iran-aligned fighters that have drawn the kingdom deeper into the Middle East war.
A Houthi military source denied the group posed any threat to Mecca or other holy sites, in comments carried by the Houthi-run SABA news agency on Tuesday.
The Houthis have seized control of parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s most important shipping straits, threatening Saudi oil exports rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz.
The group has announced several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, including strikes on an air base on Monday that it said were retaliation for air strikes on Yemen.
(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Enas Alashray; Additional Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Editing by Tom Hogue and Michael Perry)
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