SANAA/ RIYADH – A Yemeni government minister says on condition of anonymity that a Houthi missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden had hit a command center of the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the group. The minister says the Houthis hit a command center for Yemeni government “forces with three missiles, and the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces at the presidential complex with two missiles,” adding that there were Yemeni and Saudi casualties, without providing a specific toll.
The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced Thursday that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi cruise missile over the Madinah region. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki confirmed that the cruise missile had been launched by the Houthi militia and successfully intercepted over the Madinah region. The latest interception came amid a series of attacks over the past days, during which the coalition announced the interception and destruction of 14 missiles and drones targeting Saudi territory. The intercepted threats included ballistic and cruise missiles targeting Riyadh, Al-Kharj and the Eastern Province, as well as five drones directed toward the capital and the southern region.
The coalition reaffirmed that it was taking strict operational measures to counter the attacks, pledging to neutralize and destroy the Houthis’ offensive capabilities while protecting civilians. Two security personnel have been killed in a Houthi missile attack targeting the presidential palace in the port city of Aden in southern Yemen, which is the seat of the internationally-recognised government, officials say.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told the BBC that the prime minister and other ministers were unhurt when five ballistic missiles hit al-Maashiq Palace, but that many others were injured. The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said they struck “the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden”. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia backs the government and is providing air support for an offensive by pro-government forces against the Iran-backed Houthis. Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya Zindani condemned the Houthis’ attack on Aden, calling it “cowardly” and a “continuation of their criminal behaviour”. He said the government continued to carry out its duties and vowed that it would not weaken the resolve of its forces to continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen’s south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines. Earlier, the Houthis denied that they had attacked Saudi Arabia on Thursday, after the coalition said its forces had intercepted a cruise missile in the Medina region, home to one of Islam’s holiest shrines.
