Houthi Attacks Disrupt Saudi Flights as Allies Weigh Support

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara was assessing how it could contribute to Saudi Arabia’s defense under the Mecca pact with the kingdom and Pakistan, while working for a diplomatic solution.

“This is not an offensive pact,” Fidan told a news conference in Ankara.

“Turkey will not send troops into another country’s territory to carry out an attack.”

Fidan said Turkey and Pakistan had discussed possible defensive support at an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5.

Preparations to submit the agreement to the Turkish parliament were nearly complete, he added.

The Iran-backed Houthis said they had struck Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile on Oct. 8. 

Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the claimed hit, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two missiles over the capital.

Saudi civil defense said debris from an interception damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex.

Lufthansa and Air India suspended flights to Riyadh, while hundreds of services were canceled.

Reuters reported that a parked Saudia aircraft was heavily damaged after catching fire, citing three people briefed on the incident.

The latest attacks followed strikes on Abha and King Khalid airports on Oct. 7 that killed three people and wounded 36, according to Saudi aviation authorities.

Saudi forces responded with strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki confirmed air raids, while Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported strikes on Hodeidah airport and Sanaa’s Bani Matar district.

The fighting has drawn renewed attention to the role of Saudi Arabia’s military partners.

Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Oct. 8 rejected a New York Times report that Pakistani fighter jets were participating in strikes against the Houthis, calling it “fake and fabricated.”

Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN that Pakistani forces were already in Saudi Arabia, but stressed that the military presence dated back decades. 

He declined to disclose troop numbers or operational details.

Reports of a possible Syrian deployment also drew an official denial.

Axios had reported, citing three U.S. officials, that Riyadh and Damascus were discussing sending Syrian troops to Yemen.

Ahmad Zaidan, a media adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, rejected reports that Saudi Arabia had requested Syrian forces for deployment in the kingdom or Yemen, describing them as “lies.”

Syria’s Foreign Media Department reaffirmed support for Saudi security but said Damascus was focused on rebuilding the country and avoiding new fronts.