Yemen's Houthis attack presidential palace in Aden, key Saudi infrastructure

Yemen's Houthis attack presidential palace in Aden, key Saudi infrastructure

Al-Maashiq Palace is the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government

Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, killing five people, the government said, while the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen detailed dozens of attacks on Saudi infrastructure in the escalating conflict.

The ‌attack was the first in the current conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia on Aden's al-Maashiq palace, the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government. The conflict is a new theatre in the wider regional war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The government's prime minister and cabinet members were safe following the attack, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said. Witnesses told Reuters they ​heard loud booms near the palace. Yemen's cabinet said the attack involved missiles and drones.

Yemen's health minister, Qasim Buhaibeh, said five people were killed and 16 wounded in what he described as a Houthi attack on the government's official headquarters at the presidential complex. The casualties included guards and civilian employees.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Houthis had bombed what he described as the Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden, as part of the group's declared policy of targeting "Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located."

The ​Houthi-run news agency SABA said the headquarters was run by Saudi officers and that there were weapons depots there. Reuters could not ⁠independently verify the claims.

How the Houthi-Saudi Arabia conflict plays into broader Middle East war

The renewed fighting ⁠between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces resumed in Yemen last month, and aid ‌agencies have warned of rapidly worsening conditions.

Last week, government forces launched a campaign to recapture areas controlled by the Houthis, recovering ground near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a global shipping artery.

Residents of Taiz, northwest of Aden, have said they face intensifying bombardment and dwindling supplies as the Houthis tighten their grip on areas around the city, which is Yemen's third-largest.

War broke out in Yemen in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, ⁠driving the government south. A Saudi-led military intervention the following year led to a bloody stalemate before a 2022 truce that held until this year.

More than 200,000 people displaced as renewed fighting grips Yemen, UN agency says

In that phase of the conflict Houthi fighters and allied forces briefly seized al-Maashiq palace during a battle for Aden, before withdrawing.

Houthis targeting Saudi airports, ports, oil

As Saudi Arabia backs ‌government forces, the Houthis have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi airports, ports and oil installations, turning U.S. ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider war and threatening its ambitious economic plans.

On Thursday, the Saudi-led military coalition said the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of such sites, highlighting the risk to Saudi civilian infrastructure. The governing council of the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization condemned the recent attacks ​on civilian airports, aircraft, and aviation infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Global Affairs Canada issued an advisory Thursday cautioning against travel to Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki told reporters that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding ⁠333 others. The airport is one of Saudi Arabia's main international aviation hubs.

Smoke and flames rise from Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport in a screengrab from social media video verified by Reuters, after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the airport on Oct. 8. (Social Media/Reuters)

The coalition said Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni ⁠border had killed three people and wounded 28.

Maliki said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of "regional actors," including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden ⁠fast boats.

Britain to give limited military support to Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi rebels

Iran ⁠has provided weapons, money and training to the Houthis, although ​Tehran has officially denied arming them in violation of a UN arms embargo.

Maliki also said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in ​Yemen's mountainous areas, calling on the Houthis to ⁠immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Shortly afterwards, the Houthi military spokesperson said Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, renewing a warning to airlines while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority issued early-warning alerts throughout Thursday over potential threats in the cities of Najran and Jizan, as well as the wider Najran and Jazan regions, before later saying the danger had passed.

The Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone in the southwestern Saudi Arabian city of Khamis Mushait, and another launched towards the country's southern region.