Houthi missiles killed five at Yemen’s presidential palace in Aden. The UN Security Council condemned the group’s attacks.
Yemen’s Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in Aden on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 16, Yemen’s health minister, Qasim Buhaibeh, said. Two of the prime minister’s bodyguards were among the dead, according to Al Jazeera. It was the first Houthi attack on al-Maashiq palace in the current conflict.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and cabinet members were unharmed and that five missiles were fired. He said three hit a command center for Yemeni government forces and two hit one for Saudi-led coalition forces at the complex. The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV claimed Saudi officers were killed or wounded, which could not be verified. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group bombed the “Saudi military operations headquarters,” warned that attacks would continue and declared airports and oil installations “legitimate targets.” Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad al-Alimi called the attack an extension of strikes on airports and oil facilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition said Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have killed 17 people and injured more than 330 since Oct. 1, with the airport attacked 20 times. It said the group obtained ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats with help from regional actors, and that it destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms. The Houthis said Saudi warplanes carried out 65 air and missile strikes on Houthi-held areas in the past 24 hours. The UN Security Council strongly condemned the escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The fighting is a new front in the wider regional war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, after a 2022 truce held until this year.
This report is based on information from Reuters, Al Jazeera, Xinhua and ABC News Australia.