NEW DELHI: For a few tense moments on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Mecca was placed on an emergency alert.
Saudi Arabia warned residents of the holy city of a potential danger amid an escalation in attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. The alert was later lifted.
On Wednesday, Saudi authorities said their air defences had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered the restricted airspace over the holy city. Saudi officials described the security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims as a “red line.” The Houthis have denied targeting Mecca.
The episode was a reminder of something that once seemed almost unthinkable: the sanctity of Mecca has not always kept it beyond the reach of political violence.
Nearly 47 years ago, on November 20, 1979, the Grand Mosque itself was seized by an armed group in one of the most extraordinary episodes in modern Saudi history.
It was just after the Fajr, or dawn, prayer at Masjid al-Haram, the Grand Mosque surrounding the Kaaba. Thousands of worshippers had gathered for the morning prayer when commotion broke out.
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