5 killed, 16 injured in Houthi attack on Yemen’s Aden presidential palace

YEMEN: Five people were killed and 16 injured in a Houthi attack targeting the al-Maashiq Presidential Palace in Yemen’s southern city of Aden, Al Jazeera reported, citing Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Mohammed Buhaibeh, amid escalating hostilities between the Houthi movement and government forces.

In a post on X, Houthi rebels spokesperson Yahya Saree on Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying, “The bombing of the Saudi enemy’s war operations headquarters in Aden comes within the context of the announced equation of striking Saudi mobilizations wherever they may be, and considering any military presence of the Saudi enemy a legitimate target for our forces wherever it may be.”

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi called the attack an “extension” of strikes against airports and oil facilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reported. Al-Alimi said he had directed government forces to “take the necessary measures to protect state institutions, counter terrorist threats, and respond appropriately to sources of danger”.

He added that the “Dawn of Yemen” operation, launched earlier this month, was proceeding towards its objective of “restoring state institutions and extending state authority across the entire national territory, ultimately reaching the capital, Sanaa.”

According to Al Arabiya, Yemen’s Minister of Youth Nayef Saleh al-Bakri said all cabinet ministers in Aden were unharmed and asserted that members of the government would not leave the city following the attack.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces claimed to have carried out 1,250 attacks against Houthi positions in the preceding 24 hours as part of the “Dawn of Yemen” campaign. Government forces spokesperson Majed al-Nuzaili said in a post on X that the operations involved combat aircraft, drones, artillery and rocket launchers and destroyed 150 Houthi vehicles. He said the attacks contributed to the destruction of Houthi fortifications, “particularly on the Taiz fronts”.

Separately, the Marib Governorate Media Office said in an official press release that the Houthis fired nine ballistic missiles and seven other projectiles at Marib city on Thursday evening.