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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” what he called a “dastardly and heinous” attack on Mecca, after a Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthis for launching a drone toward the holy city.
“The people of Pakistan are saddened and perturbed by this outrageous act,” Sharif said on X.
The Houthis denied responsibility for the launch.
Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group near Mecca, the Saudi-led coalition said early Wednesday.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the drone was intercepted around 6:50 p.m. local time Tuesday before entering restricted airspace, with its wreckage falling south of the city.
Malki described the incident as the Houthis’ second attempt to target Mecca, citing a ballistic missile launched toward the city on July 27, 2017.
He said the security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims was a “red line,” vowing that the coalition would take measures to deter further attacks.
The Houthis rejected the Saudi accusation that they had launched the drone.
“Claims of targeting Mecca are a nauseating lie that has been consumed before and no longer fools anyone,” Hezam al-Asad, a senior member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, said in a statement.
The incident came a day after the coalition said 13 civilians were injured in missile and drone attacks by the Houthis on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, with seven homes and two vehicles damaged.
Confrontations between Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July after years of relative calm.
Yemen has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
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