(Files) This picture taken on December 11, 2019, shows an oil tanker at the port of Ras al-Khair, about 185 kilometres north of Dammam in Saudi Arabia's eastern province overlooking the Gulf. (Photo by Giuseppe Cacace / AFP)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthis accused them on Wednesday of targeting Islam's holy city Makkah, sparking outrage across the Muslim world.
The Houthis swiftly rejected as a "lie" Riyadh's statement that it had shot down a drone heading towards Makkah, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.
Fresh fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government has dragged in the kingdom, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on its ships in the Red Sea.
Last week, the Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the wider Middle East war chokes off the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
The Saudi coalition vowed retaliation, warning that the security of holy sites was a "red line".
"The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia," it said in a statement.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation -- a bloc of 57 Muslim countries -- condemned the "heinous attacks... against the city of Makkah and the Madinah region".
Saudi Arabia had issued brief alerts on Tuesday over possible attacks in Makkah and across parts of the south.
The alerts, including the first one in Makkah since the Middle East war erupted in February, came a day after a wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen wounded 13 people in the south.
