Houthi missile attack on Yemen's presidential palace in Aden kills five
A Houthi missile strike on al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, killed five people and injured 16. The prime minister and other ministers were unharmed.
Five people have been killed and 16 injured in a ballistic missile attack by the Iran-backed Houthi movement on the presidential palace in Aden, the southern Yemeni port city that serves as the seat of the internationally recognised government, officials say. The attack is the latest escalation in Yemen's civil war, which began in 2014 and also involves a Saudi-led coalition.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told the BBC that five ballistic missiles hit al-Maashiq Palace, while the prime minister and other ministers were unhurt. Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the casualties included people guarding the site and civilian employees.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed the strike targeted "the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden". Prime Minister Shaya Zindani called the attack "cowardly" and a "continuation of their criminal behaviour". He said the government would keep performing its duties and that its forces would continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines.
Saudi and Iranian accusations
Earlier, the Houthis denied attacking Saudi Arabia on Thursday, after the coalition said it had intercepted a cruise missile in the Medina region. On Saturday, a Houthi missile strike killed 13 people at Riyadh's international airport, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Rayed Krimly accused Iran of arming, training and supporting the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Iran's government did not respond immediately; it has previously denied supplying weapons and said it supports the group only politically.
Background
The conflict escalated in 2015, when the coalition intervened. A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia. In September they seized part of the south-western Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Last week, pro-government forces said they had regained control of territory overlooking the strait, backed by Saudi air strikes.
The government's health ministry says at least 1,282 people have been killed and 5,890 injured in fighting since 6 August. The UN says another 201,000 people have been displaced and reports an alarming surge in suspected cholera cases.