The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Friday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired towards the southern Saudi city of Najran, and destroyed a drone over the Makkah region in the west of the kingdom. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said Saudi air defences had successfully intercepted the two missiles, adding that the relevant authorities were assessing the damage caused by falling debris. In a subsequent statement, he said a drone had also been intercepted and destroyed over the Makkah region, without identifying who launched it or what its intended target was.

A third interception in Riyadh

Later on Friday, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone in the Riyadh region, hours after the separate intercepts in Najran and Makkah. The announcements came a day after the coalition said it had destroyed a ballistic missile fired towards the Medina region and a drone in the Eastern Province. The Houthi movement, which controls much of northern Yemen, has launched repeated missile and drone attacks towards Saudi territory in recent weeks as fighting with the coalition has intensified.

Houthis deny targeting holy cities

A Houthi spokesman denied that the group had targeted Mecca or Medina, saying its operations were directed at Saudi energy and military infrastructure. The coalition has previously accused the Houthis of launching drones towards Islam's two holiest cities. The exchanges underline how the war in Yemen has become entangled with the wider regional confrontation: Saudi Arabia has been pressing for a diplomatic end to the US–Iran war, while warning that renewed strikes on Iran could ignite wider hostilities across the Gulf.