Yemenupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 28 February 2012Yemen’s Houthis Deny Saudi-Led Coalition Claim Of Drone Intercept Over Mecca
2 West Asian1 African1 Israeli1 OtherPhoto: Wurzelgnohm, CC0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a Houthi drone over Mecca. Yemen's Houthis deny launching any drone toward Saudi Arabia.
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5 outlets told this the same way.
Drone over Mecca Denied
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen's Houthis in the Mecca region on Friday, framing the incident as part of cross-border attacks by the Iran-aligned group. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree dismissed the coalition's account as false in a post on X/Twitter, saying the Houthis had not carried out any operation towards Saudi territory.
Saree insisted that the movement’s military operations were directed at Saudi oil facilities and military bases, and he also rejected accusations of targeting Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities. The Jerusalem Post reported the exchange as a denial after the coalition’s statement, while Arise News described the Houthi denial as a response to the coalition’s claim that it had destroyed an unmanned aircraft in the Mecca region on Friday.
Yahya Saree’s Counterclaim
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for Yemen's army, described the Saudi claims about targeting Mecca as an obvious and great lie, and he said the interception of a drone in Mecca's airspace is a lie. Saree added that Yemen's armed forces carried out 6 special military operations deep inside "Saudi" territory, and he said no one in the world believes anymore these lies and claims published by the criminal Al Saud regime.
تسنیم reported Saree’s emphasis that repeated allegations by Saudi officials against Yemen’s Armed Forces were intended to provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world. خبرگزاری بین المللی قرآن quoted Saree labeling the Saudi interception claim as a “big lie” and stating, “Our operations target the oil facilities and military bases of the Saudi enemy,” while it also cited Al-Masirah for the framing of the dispute.
Wider War, Civilian Toll
The Yemen’s Armed Forces statement described the drone dispute as occurring amid an intensification of Saudi military operations against Yemen, and it said Saudi forces carried out 101 airstrikes and missile attacks on the capital, Sana’a, and eight other governorates within 24 hours. The same account said the total number of attacks since the escalation began to 3,480, and it tied the exchange to a broader pattern of strikes and missile attacks affecting multiple areas.
Omar al-Bukhaiti condemned the attacks, including a deadly assault on Al-Hazm Market in Al-Jawf province that reportedly killed 14 civilians and wounded 15 others, including three women. The sources also linked the dispute to Yemen’s ongoing claims of cross-border attacks, with The Jerusalem Post saying the Houthis claimed to have attacked several refineries and airports in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Ras Tanura oil refinery, Rabigh refinery, and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
