Saudi coalition says it destroyed a drone near Mecca; the Houthis deny launching any operation

The Saudi-led coalition announced on Tuesday, November 3, that it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Mecca area, one of Islam’s two holiest cities. Its spokesman Turki al-Maliki made the announcement on X, without giving details of injuries or damage. Yemen’s Houthis denied launching any operation towards Saudi territory, as hostilities between the Houthis and the coalition escalate.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group carried out no operation against Saudi territory that day and that its operations target Saudi oil facilities and military bases. Mecca, home to the Kaaba and visited by millions of pilgrims every year, is regarded as a red line for Saudi Arabia and for the Muslim world. A similar coalition claim and a similar denial had come last week, when the coalition reported shooting down a drone over the same area, as we described in our coverage of the Houthi claims.

Monday’s tally

The interception at Mecca came a day after the coalition reported destroying a ballistic missile, which it attributed to the Houthis, and two drones over the Riyadh area. The missile was heading for southern Saudi Arabia. The country’s Civil Defence then gave the all-clear in the cities of Abha and Najran, as well as in the Khamis Mushait and Taif areas, without specifying the nature of the threats that had triggered the warnings.

The same day the Houthis claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi air and military infrastructure over the previous 48 hours. Saree claimed that Dammam airport was hit in two phases by two drones, disrupting air traffic. In Jizan, he said, one drone directly hit an early-warning radar, while another targeted a military transport aircraft at the city’s airport. The claims have not been independently verified. Dammam airport had been attacked days earlier in a strike that left two dead, including an Indian national, and eight injured, and reopened the next day.

The Houthis speak of air strikes and casualties in Yemen

For their part, Saree said on Monday evening that Saudi Arabia carried out 109 strikes in the previous 24 hours in the provinces of Saada, Taiz, Lahij, al-Jawf and Hodeidah. The Houthi health ministry said 17 civilians were killed in two days and that most were children. According to the ministry, this shows that Saudi aircraft are targeting homes, residential neighbourhoods and markets.

The escalation follows the collapse of the 2022 truce in July and the Houthi offensive in September to seize the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Developments on the ground include the Houthi advance to within 80 kilometres of Aden. The UN has said more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed.

Diplomatic activity is intensifying at the same time. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that talks with Saudi Arabia continue, aiming at new regional security arrangements without foreign military involvement. Last week senior Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials met Iranian counterparts in Tehran, in the first such high-level contact since August.