Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Mecca

A security alert has been issued in Islam's holiest city.

Muslims perform Umrah at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on September 14, 2026 [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Saudi Arabia has said that a drone launched by the Houthis towards Mecca has been intercepted and destroyed, in an escalation that could threaten the holy city.

The Saudi-led coalition spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, said Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted the hostile drone before it entered the restricted airspace on Tuesday evening.

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Al-Maliki condemned the incident as an attempt to frighten worshippers and harm civilians, warning that the security of the two holy mosques and pilgrims is a “red line”.

The Houthis have previously denied targeting Mecca, saying that they do not target holy sites.

Saudi Arabia issued a security alert on Tuesday in the holy city of Mecca for the first time since the Houthis last attempted to target the sacred area in 2017.

The alert of potential danger in Mecca was swiftly lifted after a few minutes. The same alert was activated for Taif and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city.

In a statement to Yemen’s SABA news agency on Tuesday, a Houthi military source strongly rejected the claim that Houthi forces pose a threat to the city of Mecca or other Islamic holy sites.

“We categorically deny that there is any threat from Yemen directed at the city of Mecca or any other holy sites,” the source said, condemning what he described as “misinformation”.

The latest attacks mark a sharp resurgence in a conflict dating to 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen after the Houthis seized Sanaa and ousted the internationally recognised government.

A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 largely halted Houthi attacks on Saudi territory, but hostilities have escalated again since the group declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in July and gained control of critical nodes on the country’s Bab al-Mandeb coastline.

In early September, the Iran-aligned group launched missiles and drones at sites across Saudi Arabia, marking a drastic escalation in the fighting. Riyadh has accused the Houthi rebels of launching attacks on civilian and economic sites in the kingdom.

The Saudi-led coalition said it will respond “firmly” to Houthi strikes on urban areas that injured 13 people in the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Tuesday.

Why is the alert on Mecca significant?

This was the first time in nearly a decade that a security alert had been activated in Mecca.

Mecca is home to the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site. Two billion Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during their daily prayers.

This year, Saudi Arabia welcomed around 1.7 million Muslims for the Hajj season in late May, while the country was vulnerable to direct strikes.

Hajj is considered one of the five pillars of Islam, necessary for Muslims to fulfil once in their lifetime.

Throughout the year, millions of pilgrims travel to Mecca to perform the optional Umrah pilgrimage.

Last autumn, Mecca welcomed more than 11.7 million pilgrims for Umrah between September and October 2025.

Hajj has only been restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when Saudi Arabia barred foreign Muslims from performing the pilgrimage to help prevent the spread of the virus.

It remains to be seen if the attacks on Saudi Arabia will affect pilgrimage to Mecca.

伊斯兰教圣城已发布安全警报。

2026年9月14日，穆斯林在沙特阿拉伯圣城麦加的大清真寺进行副朝（Umrah）。[Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/路透社]

沙特阿拉伯方面表示，胡塞武装向麦加发射的一架无人机已被拦截并摧毁，这一局势升级可能会威胁到这座圣城。

沙特领导的联军发言人图尔基·马利基表示，沙特皇家空军于周二晚间在敌方无人机进入禁飞区之前将其拦截。

沙特阿拉伯承诺“坚决”回应胡塞武装的袭击（共3条，第1条）

问题 2（共 3 个）：胡塞武装能否守住也门具有战略意义的西部海岸？

沙特阿拉伯面临重大抉择（共3条），与胡塞武装的战争不断升级

马利基谴责这一事件是企图恐吓信徒和伤害平民，并警告说，两座圣寺和朝圣者的安全是“不可逾越的红线”。

胡塞武装此前否认以麦加为袭击目标，称他们不会袭击圣地。

沙特阿拉伯周二在圣城麦加发布了安全警报，这是自胡塞武装2017年最后一次试图袭击该圣地以来，沙特首次发布此类警报。

麦加的潜在危险警报在几分钟后迅速解除。沙特阿拉伯第二大城市塔伊夫和吉达也发布了同样的警报。

周二，一名胡塞武装军方消息人士在向也门萨巴通讯社发表的声明中，强烈驳斥了胡塞武装对麦加城或其他伊斯兰教圣地构成威胁的说法。

“我们断然否认也门对麦加城或任何其他圣地构成任何威胁，”该消息人士说，并谴责他所说的“虚假信息”。

最近的袭击标志着这场始于 2015 年的冲突急剧复苏。当时，胡塞武装占领萨那并推翻了国际社会承认的也门政府，沙特阿拉伯随后介入也门局势。

2022 年 4 月，在联合国斡旋下达成的停火协议基本阻止了胡塞武装对沙特领土的袭击，但自该组织于 7 月宣布封锁沙特航运并控制该国曼德海峡沿岸的关键节点以来，敌对行动再次升级。

9月初，与伊朗结盟的胡塞武装向沙特阿拉伯境内多个目标发射导弹和无人机，标志着冲突急剧升级。利雅得方面指责胡塞武装袭击了沙特境内的民用和经济设施。

沙特领导的联军表示，将对胡塞武装周二在沙特城市哈米斯穆沙伊特、艾卜哈和塔伊夫发动的袭击做出“坚决”回应，这些袭击造成13人受伤。

为什么麦加的警报如此重要？

这是近十年来麦加首次启动安全警报。

麦加是伊斯兰教最神圣的场所——克尔白所在地。全世界20亿穆斯林在每日祈祷时都面向克尔白。

今年5月下旬，沙特阿拉伯迎来了约170万穆斯林朝觐，但该国也容易受到直接袭击。

朝觐被认为是伊斯兰教五大支柱之一，穆斯林一生中必须履行一次。

一年之中，数百万朝圣者前往麦加进行自愿的副朝（Umrah）。

去年秋天，麦加在 2025 年 9 月至 10 月期间迎来了超过 1170 万名朝圣者进行副朝。

朝觐仅在 2020 年 COVID-19 大流行期间受到限制，当时沙特阿拉伯禁止外国穆斯林进行朝觐，以帮助防止病毒传播。

沙特阿拉伯遭受的袭击是否会影响前往麦加的朝圣活动，目前尚不得而知。