Kochi: Saudi Arabia has accused terror outfit Houthis of targeting the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday even as the Iran-backed terror outfit has rejected the allegations which it said were as a lie, DW news said.
“The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia,” the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition said in a statement shared by spokesman Turki al-Maliki on X.
Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone “launched by the Terrorist Houthi Militia” before it entered the airspace of the holy city.
“The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone,” Hazem al-Assad, a high-ranking member from the Houthi movement, wrote on X.
Meanwhile the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 57 Muslim nations, condemned the “heinous” attack.
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia injured 13 people on Monday night, bringing the total number of people injured since the conflict escalated in July to about 100.
In July, the Houthis also blocked Saudi oil shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, that had been serving as an alternative route for Saudi oil exports amid Iran’s blockade of the nearby Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi on Tuesday reached out to Egypt for support against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The growing escalation has opened up another front in the Middle East, which is already grappling with the US war on Iran.
Photo: X
