- Spox declares security of holiest sites, safety of pilgrims “red line”.
- Alleged attempt comes amid sharp rise in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
- Latest incident adds highly sensitive dimension to widening Red Sea conflict.
Saudi Arabia’s air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Wednesday, as fighting spreads in the Middle East.
The drone, intercepted on Tuesday evening, was the second alleged Houthi attempt to target Makkah, spokesperson Turki al-Malki said in a statement, following what the coalition said was a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.
The incident follows a week of attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi fighters that have drawn Saudi Arabia deeper into the war.
Makkah is Islam’s holiest city and home to the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba, and its security was a “red line”, coalition spokesperson al-Malki said in the statement.
Houthi officials have denied targeting Makkah.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia have roiled global energy markets amid the six-month US-Iran war, which has slowed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a trickle.
The Houthis have seized control of parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in recent days overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s most important shipping straits, threatening Saudi Arabia’s oil exports rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia issued security alerts for Makkah on Tuesday, but Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Farah denied the group had targeted the city, calling the allegation “an outright lie” in comments carried by the Houthi-run SABA news agency.
The Houthis have announced several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, including attacks on an air base on Monday, which they said were in retaliation for airstrikes on Yemen. The air base attack wounded 13 civilians, Saudi-led military coalition officials said.
Saudi Arabia has blamed a separate pro-Iranian movement based in Iraq for an attack on Friday that knocked out one of the kingdom’s most important oil transport routes, the East-West Pipeline across the Arabian desert.
The 1,200-km (745-mile) East-West Pipeline linking Saudi Arabia’s Gulf oil fields to the Red Sea has been the kingdom’s principal export route while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by nearly seven months of war, which has killed thousands of people across the region.
Since the pipeline was shut after Friday’s attack, traders say a prolonged closure could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supply.
Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume.
But US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that crude oil should be flowing through the pipeline within days.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015. The conflict had largely quieted under a ceasefire in recent years, but reignited when the Houthis pushed back forces aligned with the Yemeni government this month.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman phoned US President Donald Trump last week seeking military support, which so far has been limited to intelligence aid.
