A Houthi drone was destroyed before entering Mecca’s airspace, Saudi Arabia said around sunset on September 15. This was the latest Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia and illustrated how the Iranian-backed Houthis intend to continue their attacks.
Riyadh said that Saudi air defenses were able to destroy a drone attempting to enter the airspace of the holy city of Mecca, in a major escalation by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Saudi-based outlet Arab News reported.
“The drone was intercepted at 6:50 p.m. Saudi time on Tuesday south of Mecca, a city visited by millions of Muslims annually,” the report said.
This comes just five days after the Houthis swept down the Red Sea coast and took over islands that guard the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The goal of the Houthis has been to send a message to Saudi Arabia that they are dominant. The Houthis wanted to show that, despite Saudi air superiority, they can strike where they want in the Kingdom.
Arab News said that the threat near Mecca “was a red line,” according to Major-General Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, in a statement issued early on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia said that “Mecca is Islam’s holiest site and the act by the Iran-backed group is likely to upset millions of Muslims globally.”
As such, the attack was symbolic. This was the latest symbol since the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq attacked the important Saudi East-West pipeline that moves energy supplies to Yanbu. Riyadh is now warning about oil shipments.
The East-West pipeline outage could affect the global economy
It also came after the commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, visited Jeddah and met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. MBS, as he is called, then went to Cairo for meetings with the Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. This came after reports of a meeting in Germany that included CENTCOM as well as Israeli and Arab officials.
Meanwhile, it was also reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia held talks mediated by US CENTCOM aimed at helping Riyadh defend itself against the Houthi military through intelligence assistance, a regional diplomat confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, according to our earlier report.
Arab News noted that the recent drone threat was to Mecca, “one of Islam’s major pillars — the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the city and its holy precincts.”
Saudi Arabia said that its coalition against the Houthis viewed this as “a black mark in the record of violations by the terrorist Houthi militia, considered a deliberate act to inflame the feelings of millions of Muslims.” Riyadh noted that this is not the first time that the group has had a missile shot down around the holy city.
“In 2017, Saudi air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward Mecca by Yemen’s Houthi militia, according to the Arab Coalition command,” Arab News said. “The Coalition said at the time that the missile was shot down over the Al-Wasliya area in Taif province. No damage or injuries were reported.”
The Houthis also harmed 13 civilians in an attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday. Those attacks targeted Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif with ballistic missiles.
“Last week an attack by the militia left more than 70 people injured, including women and children, in various towns and cities across Saudi Arabia,” Arab News noted. “The Kingdom on Friday temporarily shut down its East-West Pipeline after it was targeted in several drone attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions.”
The recent attacks will leave Saudi Arabia with a choice. Will it seek to shift things in Yemen and support the Yemen government against the Houthis in a new offensive?
The Houthi attack on coastal areas showed that the government forces are in disarray. Houthis routed them. Videos online published by the Houthis show them sweeping away the government-backed forces. Now reports say the Houthis are digging in, building tunnels and trenches to prepare for a counter-offensive.
Meanwhile, oil supplies may be disrupted, and prices could rise. This may pressure the US and the West. It may also pressure Riyadh. In Iraq, the authorities have not found a suspect in the attacks on the Saudi pipeline. Instead, Iraq’s prime minister is touring Europe. In Iraq, the authorities want to blame a small group for the attacks. This means little will be done against the group.