Airport Attacks

Houthi forces claimed responsibility Wednesday for strikes on two Saudi airports that killed three civilians and injured 36, aviation officials said.

Abha International Airport, in the kingdom's southwest, and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were both hit, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said, according to Al Jazeera. In Abha, the attack killed two women, a Moroccan and an Algerian, and injured 28 people. The Riyadh strike killed a Sudanese man and injured eight others, including five Saudi citizens, the aviation authority said.

A Houthi military spokesman claimed both strikes, Al Jazeera reported. The attacks followed months of fighting between the Iran-aligned militia and Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government. Both sides are battling for control of territory along the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets are also housed at King Khalid International, Al Jazeera reported. Coalition forces intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the airport on Sept. 18. Residents heard an explosion nearby the next day. Riyadh intercepted another missile north of the capital on Wednesday, DW reported.

On Monday, three countries moved fast. Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to put their joint defense pact into immediate effect, DW reported. The three signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement back in August. Under its terms, an attack on one counts as an attack on all three. Turkey and Pakistan will now send forces to the kingdom. Retired Pakistani Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood will lead the alliance as its first secretary-general, serving a three-year term.

Some Turkish opposition lawmakers have questioned the pact's legal standing. Namik Tan, a lawmaker from Turkey's Yeni Parti and a former ambassador to the United States, told DW that parliament hadn't approved the agreement.

Backed by Saudi airstrikes, Yemeni government forces loyal to Riyadh have launched an offensive to retake the Red Sea coast near Mokha and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, DW reported. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh renewed a security alert this week, telling Americans in Saudi Arabia to stay vigilant, Al Jazeera reported.

"We also discussed what could be done to resolve the problem peacefully and through dialogue," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters after Monday's meeting in Riyadh, according to DW.