The Saudi-led coalition announced that it had intercepted and destroyed two drones headed toward the Mecca region and the southern parts of the kingdom. The announcement was made by the coalition’s spokesperson, Major General Turki al-Maliki.
“Two drones launched by the Houthis were intercepted and destroyed in the Mecca and southern regions,” the coalition said. No casualties or material damage were reported.
Meanwhile, the Saudi coalition also reported the destruction of three cruise missiles headed toward the Riyadh region. Thus, the initial information about drones targeting the Saudi capital did not correspond to the coalition’s later, more specific data, according to which the two drones had been headed toward the Mecca region and the southern areas of the country.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sari denied that the group had targeted Mecca. He said the Houthis had attacked an oil pumping station in the Yanbu area with a drone and had fired three cruise missiles at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Saudi authorities have not confirmed the claim of a strike on the facility in Yanbu. Reuters noted that the competing accounts of the attacks’ targets could not be independently verified.
The escalation between the Saudi coalition and the Houthis is unfolding against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war against Iran. The Houthis, who are backed by Tehran and control Sana’a and much of northern Yemen, have intensified missile and drone attacks against Saudi airports, oil facilities and military installations in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government. In response, the kingdom and its allies have been conducting air operations against Houthi positions, opening a new front in the broader regional conflict.
According to three Reuters sources, US President Donald Trump told his advisers that he might refrain from launching further attacks against Iran if Tehran and the Houthis did not undertake new provocations. The report comes after public signals from Washington that, for now, it is seeking to limit further military escalation.