Egypt Troops to Saudi Arabia: C-130s Reported in Taif

Open Source Intel reported that Egypt is sending troops to Saudi Arabia for the fight against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Egypt's National Defence Council approving the deployment and at least two Egyptian C-130H transport aircraft landed at King Fahd Air Base in Taif.

The report did not give the size of the Egyptian force or describe its mission inside the kingdom.

On Saturday, October 17, el-Sisi called for an emergency session of Egypt's parliament to authorize Egyptian action in Saudi Arabia's defense "if we are asked," as JFeed reported. He spoke at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy.

"It is inconceivable that we would allow Saudi Arabia, its security or stability to be harmed," el-Sisi declared.

The Egyptian president said Cairo had no intention of attacking anyone and was prepared to act only in defense. Parliament set a plenary session for 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Sunday, October 18.

El-Sisi and Mohammed bin Salman this week (Photo: CIC)

On Thursday, October 15, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at the Al-Ma'ashiq presidential palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed government. The strike killed two security guards and wounded six others.

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Friday, October 16, and praised Israel's role without saying what assistance Israel had provided. Asked whether Riyadh should accept Israel's offer of help against the Houthis, he replied: "Yeah, I do. I think they will."

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that officers of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are in Yemen directing Houthi operations. The officers are also supplying targeting intelligence for many of the group's missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia. Danny Citrinowicz, a former head of the Iran branch of Israeli defense intelligence, called the link "very, very strong on the operational level."