Houthis mount fresh ballistic missile attack on Riyadh as 3 killed in airport strikes | Gravitas

Saudi Arabia continues to reel under the Houthi offensive, which is escalating by the day.

Tensions flared up yet again as this Iran-backed group launched ballistic missile strikes on two key Saudi airports.

Now, Air India has cancelled flights to and from Riyadh until October 10.

The Indian embassy has urged all Indians in Saudi to remain alert and vigilant.

Earlier, blasts were heard across Riyadh.

Diplomats stationed in the Saudi capital took shelter in safe places inside their respective embassies.

Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh by Houthis.

However, a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh were damaged due to the shrapnel from an intercepted missile.

According to the country's civil aviation authority, Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and the Abha International Airport were hit by strikes.

While a Sudanese national was killed at the Riyadh airport, an Egyptian and Algerian national lost their lives at the Abha airport.

Overall, 36 people were wounded in these attacks.

Subsequently, the Houthis warned all airlines worldwide about the consequences of continuing their flights in Saudi airspace.

This triggered condemnation from across the world.

Condemning the strikes on the airports and expressing solidarity with the people of Saudi Arabia, India's ministry of external affairs said, "The targeting of civilian infrastructure is completely unacceptable."

Meanwhile, Houthis released footage of what it claimed was its fighters advancing towards Yemeni troops in the districts of Taiz province.

Visuals showed Houthi fighters chanting slogans and opening fire on Yemeni forces.

In a show of strength, armed Houthi supporters staged a rally in Yemen's capital.

They also commemorated the third anniversary of the October 7 terror attack.

Intensifying its counter-offensive operation, the Yemeni government claimed to have pushed Houthis out of strategic areas along the Red Sea, and the port city of Mocha.

But the Iran-backed group insisted that it has not lost any territory.

In a big retalation for the airport strikes, the Saudi-backed forces said that they destroyed 82 Houthi military targets across at least four provinces of Yemen, including Hodeidah and Marib.

The targets reportedly included mountain-based missile storage sites, command and control centres, communication systems and Houthi gathering sites.

But Houthis claimed that civilian sites were targeted.

According to the Iran-backed group, Saudis have conducted close to eighteen hundred air strikes since the current escalation started.

Meanwhile, the credibility of the Mecca Pact was drawn into question yet again.

Turkiye has now ruled out sending its troops to fight the Houthis, and added that the Mecca Pact was yet to be ratified by the country's parliament.

On the other hand, the Pakistani military spokesman confirmed the deployment of his country's forces to Saudi Arabia.

He revealed that Pakistani soldiers were discharging duties in Saudi in multiple capabilities and domains.

Now, the divide within this trilateral bloc assumes significance, as Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi urged Turkiye and Pakistan to stay out of Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen.

Amid this, Taiz is facing mounting pressure as, Houthis have seized control of areas along the main road linking the city to Aden.

This has impacted the availability of food, fuel and basic necessities with more than two hundred thousand people displaced in Yemen since July.

People are paying a huge cost as Saudi Arabia and Houthis escalate their war.