Goa, Sept. 16 -- Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence authorities on Tuesday issued aerial threat alerts across several cities along the country's western coast, including the holy city of Mecca and the governorates of Jeddah and Taif. The alerts were lifted shortly after being issued.

The alert in Mecca marked an unprecedented development, with reports indicating that the holy city had been placed under an aerial threat alert for the first time.

The warnings came amid a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days by the Iran-backed Houthi movement, which has launched strikes from Yemen.

According to a news report, Air traffic bound for Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina was also temporarily halted. The report f...