In brief
In a recent barrage, five ballistic missiles struck the presidential palace in Aden, killing two security personnel. Yemeni officials confirmed no ministerial casualties, though several others were injured. The Houthi faction said it targeted the Saudi-backed government's operations HQ, while the Yemen Prime Minister condemned the attack as cowardly. The incident follows a sequence of missile and drone assaults by the Houthis on Saudi targets, intensifying an already volatile conflict in the region.
A Houthi missile raid on the presidential palace in Aden on Friday killed two security guards and left several others wounded. Five ballistic missiles slammed into the al‑Maashiq Palace, the seat of the internationally‑recognized Yemeni government, but government ministers, including Prime Minister Shaya Zindani, were reported unharmed.
Information Minister Moammar al‑Eryani told the BBC that the attack was “cowardly” and a continuation of the Houthis’ criminal behaviour. The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said the missiles hit “the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden.”
The Yemen government, backed by a Saudi‑led coalition, has been providing air support for an offensive against the Iran‑backed Houthis. The coalition has targeted Houthi bases in Yemen and launched strikes on Saudi territory in response to the Riyadh airport attack earlier in October.
The conflict, which began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, has been fueled by regional rivalries. Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of arming the Houthis, while the Houthis deny direct Iranian involvement and claim they are retaliating against a blockade of their territory.
Yemen’s health ministry reports over 1,200 deaths and 5,800 injuries in the war’s last seven months, while the United Nations estimates that 200,000 people have been displaced. The latest missile strike marks another devastating blow to the already fragile situation in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden.
