Houthi attacks kill three at Saudi airports as Riyadh's counter-offensive in Yemen widens
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said three people were killed and 36 wounded in attacks on Abha and Riyadh's King Khalid airports on 6 and 7 October, and the Houthis claimed responsibility. The Saudi-led coalition said it had struck more than 80 Houthi military sites and vowed the attacks would not go unpunished. Aden airport was also targeted with missiles, according to Yemen's government, which says it has launched a major counter-offensive.
Bottom line — The UN says more than 200,000 people have been displaced as the Yemen war spreads into Saudi airports and shipping routes.
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The US Mission in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert warning citizens the conflict 'has the potential to escalate,' according to CNN.
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Pakistan's military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN that Pakistani forces are already stationed in Saudi Arabia under a new defence pact with Turkey, though he did not give numbers.
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Chaudhry said any Pakistani involvement would be 'defensive in nature' and declined to say whether troops would operate across the border in Yemen, per CNN.
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The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, argued in an analysis cited by AP that the Houthis aim to raise Saudi economic costs by striking oil facilities and airports.
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Yemen's Human Rights Ministry said a missile landed near the Aden runway minutes before a Yemenia flight from Cairo arrived, forcing it to divert to Jeddah, according to The National.
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The Houthis and Saudi-led coalition give conflicting accounts of the fighting around Dhubab and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait; AP could not independently verify either side's claims.
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Almost 1,000 people have been killed in the latest fighting, according to the United Nations as reported by AP, while the World Health Organization warned cholera and malnutrition cases are rising.
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The Houthis claimed 11 ballistic missile attacks on government forces in 24 hours, and Yemeni government officials disputed their claims of territorial control, per Times Now and AP.