Houthi missile attack on Yemen’s presidential palace kills five, injures 16

The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched a deadly missile attack Thursday on the al-Maashiq presidential palace in Yemen’s interim capital of Aden, killing five people and injuring 16 others, according to Yemeni officials.

Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said those killed and injured included security personnel guarding the complex and civilian employees.

Smoke was seen rising from the area as residents of the southern port city reported hearing explosions during the attack, the first targeting the complex since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July.

Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani condemned the attack as “cowardly,” describing it in a post on X as a continuation of the Houthis’ “criminal pattern” of targeting civilians and civilian facilities.

A government minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Zindani was inside the complex when the attack occurred but was unharmed.

Yemen’s civil war resumed following the collapse of a years-long truce, with the Houthis launching a rapid offensive in September.

The attack on Aden came amid an escalation in Houthi strikes across Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni government forces said the militia had also launched several ballistic missiles toward the central city of Marib, located in a strategically important oil-rich region.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses had intercepted Houthi drones targeting Saudi Arabia’s southern region and the city of Khamis Mushait.

Earlier Thursday, coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki said the Houthis had attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh 20 times since the beginning of October.

Al-Malki called on the militia to immediately halt attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports and oil facilities.

He also accused the Houthis of acquiring advanced military technology with assistance from regional parties, saying the militia possessed ballistic missiles, attack and suicide drones, and fast explosive-laden boats.