Houthis Say They Downed a Saudi Fighter Jet and Deny Targeting Mecca, tell me about this news in (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-houthi-fighter-jet-mecca-drone.html)

According to reports covering these developments, Yemen’s Houthi group claimed they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet using a locally produced surface-to-air missile over Marib province, while strongly denying accusations that they targeted Mecca.Here are the key details of the incident:

• Downing Claim: Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced on social media that their forces downed a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jet while it was conducting combat operations over Marib province, accusing the Saudi-led coalition of conducting hundreds of recent strikes.
• Mecca Drone Interception: Earlier, the Saudi military, through spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki, stated that Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed an armed Houthi drone heading toward Mecca before it entered the city’s airspace, warning that the security of Islam’s holiest site remains a strict “red line.”
• Houthi Denial: Houthi officials dismissed the Saudi statement, asserting that they do not target Islamic holy sites and accusing Riyadh of fabricating the claim to mobilize regional and religious sentiment against them amid renewed military escalation.