Fact Check: Was Mecca Targeted in a Drone Attack in September 2026? - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video showing a drone flying over Mecca, Saudi Arabia, circulated on Facebook [archive] in mid-September 2026. The less than one-minute video claims to depict an attack by the Houthi group from Yemen that was intercepted by Saudi Arabian military forces.
This narrative spread after the Saudi Arabian government announced that its forces destroyed Houthi drones in southern Mecca on September 15, 2026. Does the video indeed show a drone attack in Mecca in September 2026?
Tempo verified this video through reverse image searches and confirmation from credible sources. The results indicate that the video recorded a drone interception in Medina in September 2025. This footage has circulated online since last year, including on the Facebook page Islam Channel and the YouTube channel Balqeez TV, on September 12, 2025. Residents had reported hearing a loud explosion near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
An independent media outlet watching the holy sites, Inside the Haramain, reported that the glowing object in the Medina sky was an unauthorized drone shot down on September 11, 2025, around 05:40 local time.
Tensions between the Houthi group and the Yemeni government coalition supported by Saudi Arabia flared again in September 2026 after a ceasefire ended. Houthi attacks are claimed to be retaliation against Saudi Arabia's military intervention and naval and aerial blockade against Yemen.
The escalation began on September 8, 2026. The Guardian reported that Houthi missile and drone attacks struck oil facilities in southern Saudi Arabia, injuring more than 70 people. A wave of attacks continued in several other cities from September 11 to September 19, 2026. Saudi Arabia's air defenses intercepted drone attacks near Mecca and Taif on September 15, 2026.
However, Al Jazeera reported that Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi denied that his group aimed to target the holy city of Mecca. On September 24, 2026, the Saudi military intercepted six ballistic missiles and drones aimed at Taif and the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. On the other hand, the Houthis claimed that Saudi Arabia launched at least 300 airstrikes on Yemen in recent weeks.
Tempo concludes that the narrative of the Houthi drone attack intercepted in Mecca in September 2026 is misleading. The video actually showed a drone interception in Medina in September 2025.
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