The international military coalition under Saudi Arabia’s command has reported this Friday the location, interception, and destruction of a drone belonging to the Houthi rebel militia over the Mecca region, as stated by the official spokesman of the contingent, Major General Turki al Maliki.
The shootdown is part of the recent wave of missile and unmanned aircraft attacks launched by the Yemeni insurgency against strategic infrastructure on Saudi soil, including facilities of the state oil company Aramco and several international airports located in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
In parallel with the increase in hostilities, the Saudi Defense Minister, Khalid bin Salman, has carried out a round of contacts with different international officials --among them the Spanish Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte-- with the aim of addressing the regional security situation. At the same time, the European Union has reiterated its condemnation of the Houthi offensives and has called for an immediate ceasefire to resume the UN-sponsored peace dialogue process.
The incident takes place after Saudi authorities last Saturday denounced the launching of missiles against the Mecca and Medina region, considered the holiest cities of Islam.