Yemen conflict escalating into regional war

READ MORE: Houthis claim strikes on Riyadh airport

New reports have emerged of another possible Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, with OSINT accounts claiming ballistic missiles targeted the facility. Saudi authorities have yet to confirm that any new strike took place or report damage.

The Houthis had claimed a “direct and precise hit” on the same airport the previous night, although Riyadh did not specifically confirm that claim. Saudi aviation authorities have since acknowledged Houthi strikes on airports in Jazan and Najran, where three people were injured.

New satellite imagery dated October 6 and circulated by Soar Atlas also appears to show damage at an AESSCO facility at King Khalid airport, with one warehouse visibly darkened and a faint possible smoke trail.

Aden security authorities have confirmed that two Houthi missiles targeted the city’s international airport early on Wednesday, following two powerful explosions reported near the facility. 

The Aden security department’s media office said the strike caused no casualties. Footage circulating online showed smoke rising from the airport area after the impacts.

Aden is controlled by Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally recognized government and serves as its temporary capital after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014. Government forces retook full control of the airport earlier this year, and the city has since functioned as a key political and military logistics hub for the anti-Houthi camp.

Pro-government journalists had also reported in recent days that Saudi and Pakistani cargo shipments arrived at Aden airport, although those claims have not been independently verified.

Two powerful explosions have rocked areas around Aden International Airport in southern Yemen, Al Jazeera reported, citing its correspondents on the ground.

Footage circulating online appears to show columns of smoke rising from the airport area and at least one impact. OSINT accounts claimed that Ansar Allah targeted the facility with two ballistic missiles, but the group has yet to issue an official statement and there is no confirmed information on casualties or damage.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces say they repelled two separate Houthi attacks in Taiz province.

The Southern Giants Brigades said they pushed back an assault on their positions in the Dhubab district on Yemen’s western coast, claiming to have inflicted “heavy losses in personnel and equipment” on the Houthis. Separately, another Houthi attack was allegedly thwarted in the al-Salu district, south of Taiz, with 12 fighters “neutralised” and several others wounded.

Saudi researcher Salman al-Ansari told RT that the Houthis have “no option but to surrender,” arguing that mounting pressure from Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and the newly activated Mecca Defense Alliance is narrowing their room for maneuver.

Al-Ansari claimed the pact is primarily defensive and is expected to focus on intelligence sharing and protecting Saudi Arabia from attacks rather than launching a major offensive campaign in Yemen. Turkish and Pakistani forces, he suggested, would serve mainly as a deterrent to regional threats.

He also rejected claims that Riyadh had asked Washington to fight its war directly, saying Saudi Arabia instead seeks US intelligence support and targeting assistance.

The proposed Mecca Defense Alliance remains “in limbo” and is not yet ready to function as a full-fledged military bloc, Batman University assistant professor Dünya Başol told RT.

Başol said the pact has not been ratified, lacks a common command structure and has yet to clearly define the boundaries between collective defense, deterrence, counter-strikes and offensive warfare.

Başol nevertheless said Ankara could move quickly once the agreement is ratified, potentially within weeks. Before any troop deployment, Türkiye could send Saudi Arabia anti-drone weapons, air-defense systems and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities under bilateral arrangements, he said.

However, Turkish personnel or air-defense systems deployed in Saudi Arabia or Yemen could become Houthi targets, Başol warned.

“But I don’t assume the Turkish soil will be the case of an attack. That will change everything because then as a part of NATO, then that may trigger Article 5,” he said.

Yemeni government forces have released a series of videos showing new attacks on Houthi positions in Marib and Taiz.

One clip shows Saudi-backed troops exchanging fire from a mountaintop in Jabal Habashi, Taiz, while separate footage purportedly shows drones striking Houthi gatherings and fortifications on the western Taiz front.

Another video shows artillery targeting a military vehicle on Marib’s southern front, which then erupts in flames.

The army also said it destroyed a 23mm machine gun at what it described as one of the Houthis’ key positions in Marib.

The British Embassy in Saudi Arabia has urged UK nationals to remain alert, warning that the kingdom continues to face “missile and drone attacks, targeting cities, airports, military sites and energy infrastructure.”

Britons were advised to follow official travel alerts and local authorities’ instructions, identify nearby shelters, and refrain from filming, publishing or sharing information related to the aftermath of Houthi attacks.

At least six civilians have been killed and four wounded in attacks attributed to Ansar Allah across the southern Taiz governorate, Al Jazeera has reported, citing Yemen’s Aden-based Interior Ministry.

A major fire has reportedly broken out at an Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following an apparent long-range strike by the Houthi militants. Unverified footage circulating online shows open flames and a large plume of black smoke emitting from the damaged installation.