Houthi Forces Assert Downing of Saudi Aircraft, Deny Alleged Attack on Mecca

Yemen’s Houthi forces announced on Wednesday that they successfully shot down a Saudi fighter jet using group-manufactured munitions.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated on social media that “The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah’s aid and grace, succeeded in shooting down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet while it was carrying out hostile operations,” while accusing Saudi Arabia of conducting 450 strikes.

He stated the aircraft was targeted “using a locally made air-to-air missile”.

The spokesman also dismissed Saudi allegations that the Houthis had targeted Islam’s holy city of Mecca.

“Our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites,” he said, adding that “fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal al-Saud regime cannot deceive anyone.”

The Saudi coalition vowed retaliation, warning that the security of holy sites was a “red line”.

The coalition stated through spokesman Turki al-Maliki on X: “The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command will not hesitate to take necessary and deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia.”

Saudi Arabia had issued brief alerts on Tuesday regarding possible attacks in Mecca and across much of the kingdom’s southern border region with Yemen.

These alerts, including the first issued in Mecca since the Iran conflict erupted in February, came after a wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks from Yemen wounded 13 people in the kingdom’s south.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned “in the strongest possible terms the dastardly and heinous” attack on Mecca on Wednesday.

He stated on X: “The people of Pakistan are saddened and perturbed by this outrageous act.”

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries, also condemned the “heinous” attack.

The Houthis are Zaydi Shia Muslims, a branch of Islam historically rooted in northern Yemen that is theologically distinct from both the Twelver Shia Islam dominant in Iran and Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi-influenced Sunni tradition.

Mecca is Islam’s holiest site, home to the Kaaba — which Muslims worldwide face during prayer — and the destination of the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the faith’s Five Pillars.

Any confirmed attack on the city would render the perpetrators beyond the pale in the eyes of virtually the entire Muslim world, both Shia and Sunni.

Warnings Over Bab el-Mandeb Spike

Formally known as Ansar Allah, the Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with internationally recognized government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July.

The fighting in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country has forced 82,000 people to flee their homes since the start of September, according to the UN.

Yemen’s permanent representative at the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, said his compatriots were fighting to restore “national institutions across every inch of their land” and called on the international community to take action against the Houthis.

The group has also declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and has been targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

In a lightning offensive last week, the Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

One of the world’s crucial waterways connecting the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and a main chokehold on cargo routes to the Mediterranean and Europe has become vital to Saudi crude exports as the wider Middle East war chokes the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis have insisted that there is no threat to navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb except for Saudi vessels.

Any attacks in the waterway are likely to make it less attractive to shippers.

Disruption in the strait could also endanger Egypt, as the Red Sea serves as the gateway to the Suez Canal, on which Cairo relies for crucial foreign revenue.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Tuesday for “ensuring the freedom and security of maritime navigation” through the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, according to the Egyptian presidency.

On Tuesday, Qatar warned of dire consequences if Bab el-Mandeb was closed, calling it “catastrophic for the entire world”.

US media reported last week that the Saudi crown prince made a personal request to President Donald Trump for US intervention, but it was turned down. Neither Riyadh nor Washington have issued statements regarding these reports.

However, a US military task force is working to enhance intelligence-sharing and planning assistance for Saudi forces as they face attacks, a US official told AFP on Tuesday.

Canal revenues are currently around half of what they were before the Houthis first started attacking Red Sea shipping in 2023, a campaign they said was in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Houthis have also targeted oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, pushing global prices above the $100-a-barrel threshold.

The Saudi-led coalition said it would deal with the attacks “firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom” and would take “all necessary operational measures to deter this … hostile and extremist approach”.

The Houthis are tied to Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance — a loose network of militant groups in several countries in the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and militias in Iraq, all backed, trained, and equipped by the IRGC to varying degrees.

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