Saudi Arabia and the OIC condemn the Houthi armed forces’ attack on Mecca, but the Houthis deny it and claim to have shot down a Saudi fighter jet
Quick Look
- Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the drone attack on Mecca by Yemen's Houthi armed forces on the 16th.
- The Houthis denied this, insisting that their attack targets were limited to military facilities and oil facilities, and claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib Province.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Saudi-led multinational coalition has been at war with the Houthi armed forces in Yemen for a long time. In 2017, the Houthis attempted to launch a missile attack on Mecca.
China News Service, Beijing, September 16. Comprehensive news: Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the attack on Mecca by the Houthi armed forces in Yemen on the 16th. The Houthis denied attacking Mecca that day and claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet with a homemade missile.
Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led multinational coalition, issued a statement on social platforms on the 16th, saying that on the evening of the 15th, Saudi air defense forces intercepted and shot down a Yemeni Houthi armed drone in the airspace outside Mecca. This is after the Houthi armed forces attempted to launch a missile attack on Mecca in 2017. The organization once again targeted Mecca, the holy city of Islam.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued a statement on social platforms that day, condemning the Houthi armed forces’ attack on Mecca. The statement called the attack an "intolerable act" that was "aimed at intimidating civilians and violating the sanctity of the holy site." The Organization of Islamic Cooperation expressed "full solidarity" with Saudi Arabia and the measures it has taken to protect security and sovereignty, as well as Islam's holy sites.
Assad, a member of the Houthi armed politburo, posted on social platforms that day that the accusation that the Houthi armed forces used drones to attack Mecca was a "lie."
According to the Saba News Agency controlled by Yemen's Houthi armed forces, later on the 16th, Yemen's Houthi armed forces spokesman Saraya issued a statement denying an attack on Mecca and said that the organization shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib Province in northeastern Yemen.
The statement said that Saudi Arabia launched more than 450 air strikes in Yemen this week. F-15 and "Typhoon" fighter jets took off from air bases in the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait and the western city of Taif to carry out air strikes. Schools, bridges, roads and other civilian infrastructure were attacked in Taiz Province in southwestern Yemen, Beida Province in central Yemen, Saada Province, Jawf Province and Amran Province in northern Yemen, resulting in casualties.
The statement stated that in the face of aggression, the Yemeni Houthi armed forces used homemade surface-to-air missiles to engage two formations of Saudi F-15 and "Typhoon" fighter jets in the airspace of Marib Province, shooting down one F-15 fighter jet and forcing other fighter jets to retreat.
The statement did not specify when the Saudi fighter jet was shot down.
The statement denied that the Houthis had launched an attack on Mecca and said that the organization's military operations targeted Saudi military bases and oil facilities, which were far away from Mecca and did not pose any threat to it.
Open Questions
- What was the exact time when the Saudi fighter jet was shot down?
- Can the drone wreckage intercepted by the multinational coalition confirm its exact origin?
