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Iran-backed Houthi rebels deny launching a drone that Saudi Arabia says it destroyed near Mecca, Islam's holiest city

Muslim pilgrims performing Hajj in Mecca, the holy city that Saudi Arabia says a Houthi-launched drone was targeting before coalition forces shot it down.
Muslim pilgrims performing Hajj in Mecca, the holy city that Saudi Arabia says a Houthi-launched drone was targeting before coalition forces shot it down.

Saudi Arabia's coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the drone was shot down in the region surrounding Mecca, where millions of Muslim pilgrims travel each year. The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree insisted the group's operations target only Saudi oil facilities and military bases, not holy cities. The denial follows a pattern of repeated Saudi interception claims and repeated Houthi rejections going back years.

A tanker also caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after a small boat attached two explosives to its hull on Thursday.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said the blasts hit above the waterline, causing an engine room fire, with the crew reported safe.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard separately claimed three oil tankers struck mines trying to leave the strait through an unauthorised route.

MoreThe IndependentSaudi Arabia says drone intercepted near Islam's holiest city, and other Mideast newsReutersYemen's Houthis deny launching drone after coalition reports interception in Mecca region
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