Houthis Claim Saudi F-15 Downing as Riyadh Says Drone Approached Mecca
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
Houthis Claim Saudi F-15 Downing as Riyadh Says Drone Approached Mecca
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
Summary
A Houthi spokesman said the group shot down a Saudi F-15 over Yemeni territory with a locally made missile, a claim Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed.
Hours earlier, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city.
Yahya Saree denied the Houthis targeted Mecca, calling the accusation “fabrication and lies,” while Saudi coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said the drone sought to terrorize pilgrims and that the holy sites were a “red line.”
The alleged Mecca approach drew condemnation from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation and from Pakistan’s prime minister, underscoring how Yemen’s renewed fighting is spilling into a region already strained by the U.S.-Iran war.