Egypt's top security body agrees to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against Houthi attacks

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s top security body said Sunday it has agreed to support close ally Saudi Arabia in the major escalation of fighting between the kingdom and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has marked the latest front in the Iran war. Saudi Arabia has been pressing allies for military assistance. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom with drones and missiles that can change direction during flight, posing a challenge to interceptors.

At least 19 people have been killed, thousands of flights have been affected and global markets have been rattled. Also on Sunday, the Saudi defense minister was meeting with the United Arab Emirates president about ways to strengthen cooperation, according to the UAE’s news agency WAM. The countries have had tense relations in the recent past as they backed different factions in the Yemeni coalition fighting the rebels.

The Egyptian announcement on military assistance came a month after a visit by the Saudi crown prince. Chaired by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the National Defense Council decided to provide “all possible forms of support” to enable Saudi Arabia to defend its security, according to a presidential statement. El-Sissi on Saturday called for parliament to grant him the authorization to deploy troops and military equipment abroad.

Civilians in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia have died The surge in fighting has threatened civilians in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen, which has seen a return to civil war. The interim capital of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Aden, has seen its airport and a palace used by the government attacked in the past week. On Sunday, an airstrike killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said.

Spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said the strike hit a house in Sahar district and wounded 19 others, including 11 children. Some were in critical condition, he said. There was no immediate comment from the kingdom.

The Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite channel aired footage of people clearing debris with their hands and pulling two young people out of the rubble. The rebels said attacks by Saudi-led forces had killed or wounded over 30 people in the past 24 hours. Some were in critical condition, he said.Al-Asbahi blamed Saudi Arabia.