Saudi Arabia has said that its air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone near Makkah last evening. The spokesperson for the ‘Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen’, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, described the incident as the second attempted Houthi attack on Makkah, referring to an earlier ballistic missile incident in 2017.

He also warned that the Saudi-led coalition would take necessary measures against further attacks. Meanwhile, the Houthis have denied targeting Makkah. The incident is reported amid a sharp escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.