The unprecedented alert was triggered after the kingdom was repeatedly targeted by the Iran-backed Houthis in recent days.
Several areas on Saudi Arabia’s western coast, including the holy city of Mecca and the Jeddah and Taif governorates, were briefly put on alert after Yemen’s Houthis allegedly targeted the holy city, deepening the conflict roiling the region. It was the first time in history when an aerial threat alert was issued in Mecca.
The unprecedented alert was triggered after the kingdom’s air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered the prohibited airspace. Fresh fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has dragged in Riyadh, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.
According to a report by Israeli newspaper Hayom, the air traffic bound for Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) in Medina was also halted.
A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Mecca City to alert of a potential danger. Please follow the instructions below: https://t.co/IwvWhhKMan
— الدفاع المدني السعودي (@SaudiDCD) September 15, 2026
The attacks came a day after the Houthis wounded 13 people in the kingdom in an assault using ballistic missiles and drones from Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition battling Houthis — a bloc of 57 Muslim countries — condemned the “heinous” attack.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation spokesman Turki Al Maliki said the security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims is a “red line,” adding that the coalition would not hesitate to take necessary measures to deter further Houthi attacks.
What Houthis Said
The Houthis swiftly rejected as a “lie” Riyadh’s report that it shot down a drone from the rebels heading towards the Saudi city of Mecca, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.
“The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone,” Hazem al-Assad from the Houthis’ politburo wrote on X.
Houthis later said they shot down a Saudi fighter jet, claiming a locally made munition was used to target the warplane.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah’s aid and grace, succeeded in shooting down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was carrying out hostile operations in support of its military mobilisations in the airspace of Marib province,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media, while accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes.
He said the jet had been targeted “using a locally made air-to-air missile”.
The Saudi-Houthi Conflict
The Houthis carried out their heaviest missile and drone attack in years this week against Saudi Arabia, setting oil sites ablaze and wounding 73.
On Monday, a Houthi strike in Western Yemen killed eight government soldiers according to two military sources. The group also claimed a new large-scale attack using “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” against King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have been engaged in fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.