Pakistan confirms it has troops in Saudi as conflict with Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalates

Key Saudi ally Pakistan has confirmed it has troops stationed in the Gulf kingdom, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue cross-border attacks with deadly assaults on airports.

“The forces of Pakistan are already there. That I can share with you,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, without specifying how many or their capabilities, saying those details were classified.

The confirmation from Chaudhry, the chief of the Pakistani military’s media wing, came just days after the two nations and Turkey agreed to the rapid deployment of the forces, as part of a newly minted mutual defense treaty.

Over the past two days, the Houthis have killed three people in attacks on Saudi’s Abha International Airport, near the Yemen border, and King Khalid International Airport, in the capital Riyadh, Saudi officials said.

The attacks underscore how the conflict is increasingly affecting Saudi territory as Riyadh deepens its support for the Yemeni government’s military campaign.

The targeting of the airports prompted an updated security alert from the US Mission in Saudi Arabia, warning American citizens the conflict “has the potential to escalate.”

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have been at war with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

The conflict flared up in July, shortly after the US-Iran ceasefire unravelled, with Houthi missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in an expansion of the Middle East war. Riyadh has responded with airstrikes in support of Yemeni government forces.