Yemen Government Accuses Houthis of Firing Two Missiles at Aden Airport
Theo Al Jazeera Staff
Yemen's internationally recognized government says Houthi forces fired two missiles at Aden airport, a day after an attack on the presidential palace. Government forces also claim territorial gains in Marib and say they killed or wounded more than 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours, while the Saudi-led coalition reports intercepting missiles and drones over Riyadh.
Yemen's internationally recognized government said Houthi forces fired missiles at the airport in Aden, a day after the group carried out an attack targeting the presidential palace in the Red Sea port city.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said two missiles landed near the runway of Aden International Airport on Friday, about 500 meters from an aircraft preparing to take off. All passengers and crew were safe, he said on X, thanking "providence" for averting a potential "terrible humanitarian disaster" and calling the attacks on the airport "a serious violation of international law and norms."
According to AFP, the Houthis said in a statement attributed to a military source that on Friday they attacked the "Saudi forces command at Badr camp in Aden province" along with a weapons depot.
The latest attack in Aden, where the internationally recognized government is headquartered, comes amid intense fighting in Yemen's civil war, which has reignited between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-backed Houthis.
Earlier the same day, Yemeni government forces said their units had advanced in Marib province, northeast of Sanaa. Military spokesman Majed al-Nazili said government forces, backed by air power, had made significant "territorial gains" in the eastern part of the province, seizing "key positions."
He also said Yemeni forces had "neutralized" more than 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours, while destroying or disabling more than 100 of the group's vehicles and military equipment.
In Taiz province, which has emerged as a key front in the war, Yemeni government forces said they had repelled several "large-scale" Houthi attacks and inflicted "heavy losses" on the group. Government forces also said they captured a specialized Houthi drone unit in the Taiz area.
In recent weeks, Houthi forces have besieged Taiz — Yemen's third-largest city — by cutting the main road south to Aden, triggering a wave of displacement and deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Missiles over Riyadh
Also on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said it had shot down missiles and drones over Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of encouraging Houthi attacks on the kingdom, including by providing weapons and training to the group. Iran's Foreign Ministry, however, rejected the accusation on Friday, saying Tehran played no role in any Houthi activities and reiterating its offer to mediate between the Houthis and Riyadh.
The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Houthis — also known as Ansar Allah — seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the government to flee. A Saudi-led international coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government, leading to years of fighting between the parties.
A UN-backed ceasefire in 2022 ended most of the fighting, but tensions have remained high in Yemen since the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi ports and shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in July.
In September, the Houthis carried out a lightning ground attack on Mocha, pushing forces loyal to the Yemeni government out of the Red Sea port city. That same month, the group's forces continued to sweep through and seize territory along the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the strategically located island of Mayyun.
