Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed on 5 October at an emergency meeting in Riyadh to rapidly deploy military forces to the kingdom under the Mecca (Makkah) Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 7 August, after Yemen's Houthi rebels (an Iran-aligned group controlling much of northwest Yemen) launched missile attacks on Saudi airports in Riyadh and Abha that Saudi authorities said killed three people and injured 36. Pakistan's prime minister condemned the strikes and pledged support for Saudi security, while its defence minister said nothing in the pact bars direct involvement, though only Saudi troops are currently in combat and Islamabad calls the alliance defensive. The activation, amid renewed civil war in Yemen and a Houthi maritime blockade of Saudi shipping, raises questions over whether the new alliance could reshape the Middle East's balance of power.