Dhaka has condemned the reported drone attack targeting the Holy City of Makkah Al-Mukarramah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.“Bangladesh reaffirms its deep respect for the sanctity of Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the other Holy Sites in the Kingdom, and expresses solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people in protecting those,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Wednesday.
Bangladesh underscored that the safety and security of the holy sites must be fully respected and protected at all times, it said.
Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday that it had shot down a drone from the rebels heading towards Makkah, the holiest city in Islam, reports AFP.
"The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone launched by the Terrorist Houthi Militia before it entered the Prohibited Airspace Area of the Holy City of 'Makkah Al-Mukarramah'", read a statement, using another name for Mecca, posted on X by the coalition's spokesman Turki al-Maliki.
Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the Houthis' "heinous" attack on Islam's holy city Makkah, which the rebel group has denied.
"The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns the heinous attacks carried out by the Houthi group against the city of Makkah and the Madinah region, as well as its ongoing aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the OIC said in a statement posted on X.
FP/R
