Houthi militia attacks Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and allies respond

The Houthi militia in Yemen attacked the capital of Saudi Arabia. Journalists from the AFP news agency reported several explosions in Riyadh on Monday evening. There had been detonations there earlier in the day. The Iranian-backed militia then said it had attacked Riyadh's international airport, a refinery owned by the state oil company Aramco and several other targets in the kingdom.

At the same time, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen reported the destruction of Houthi positions in Hodeida on the Red Sea coast. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said on The coalition also thwarted a “planned attack” on shipping routes in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthis have been attacking the kingdom for weeks. The allies Türkiye and Pakistan want to quickly station military forces in Saudi Arabia. The three countries announced this after an emergency meeting as part of the Mecca Defense Pact. It was decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the joint defense pact "and to take the necessary steps to provide the agreed military forces and capacities and to ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom."

Government troops report successes after offensive

The three states concluded the agreement at the beginning of August under the name “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” against the background of the Iran war and its consequences. In the event of an attack on one of the three members, the rest are obliged to defend it.

The Houthis have controlled large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, for years. In September, the pro-Iranian militia also took control of large parts of the western Yemeni coast.