Allies unite behind Saudi Arabia as Houthis step up attacks

RIYADH/CAIRO — Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, while Tehran sought to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies. The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world's largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters. Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port. Saudi Arabia's top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, a statement posted on the Saud