Drone interception sparks renewed tensions between Saudi Arabia and Houthis

Last updated: November 03, 2026 | 15:33

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The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday it had intercepted a drone in the region of Mecca, Islam's holiest city, as the Houthis reported 17 people killed in Yemen over two days.

Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis several times of targeting Mecca and Medina, another holy city, accusations the Iran-backed fighters systematically reject.

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"Interception and destruction of a drone in the Mecca region," Turki al-Malki, the coalition's spokesman wrote on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree denied that they had carried out any attacks on Saudi territory on Tuesday, calling the Saudi statement "a slanderous and recycled lie".

Yemen has been beset by war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital…