Saudi Arabia Shoots Down Houthi Drone over Mecca

The Saudi-led military coalition intercepted and destroyed a drone detected in the area of the holy city of Mecca on Friday (30 October), local time. Riyadh said the drone was launched by the Houthi group, which is based in Yemen.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Saudi territory in recent weeks, particularly since fighting in Yemen flared up again in July following the collapse of a truce that had eased hostilities for several years.

Saudi Arabia, which leads the military coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, has launched a series of air strikes in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces. In turn, Saudi territory has been targeted in Houthi retaliatory attacks.

“A drone launched by the Houthi terrorist militia was intercepted and destroyed in the Mecca region,” the Saudi coalition said in a statement on social media platform X, AFP reported on Friday (30 October 2026).

The coalition gave no further details on whether the interception caused any damage or injuries.

The Houthis have not yet commented on the reported attack.

However, the Iran-backed group has repeatedly denied targeting Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam. The Houthis have dismissed similar allegations by the Saudi coalition—that they launched drones towards the holy cities—as “lies”.

Meanwhile, Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia have increased in recent weeks. The attacks, involving missiles and drones, have targeted military installations, energy infrastructure and civilian airports.

On Thursday (29 October), Saudi coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis had been intercepted and destroyed. Al-Maliki said the missiles had been detected heading towards Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh,” Al-Maliki said in a statement on X.

A day earlier, Saudi Civil Defence authorities reported that debris from two intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles had damaged a building, a building construction site and a vehicle.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly condemned Houthi attacks as violations of its sovereignty and affirmed its right to defend its territory and citizens.