Yemen’s government says Houthis fired two missiles at Aden airport

Attack comes as Yemeni gov’t forces claim advances in Marib province and say they ‘neutralised’ 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government says the Houthis have launched missiles at the airport in Aden, a day after carrying out a deadly attack targeting the presidential palace in the port city.

Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said two missiles landed near the runway at Aden International Airport on Friday, 500 metres (1,640 feet) from an aircraft that was preparing to take off.

All passengers and crew were safe, he said on X, thanking “divine providence” for preventing a potential “horrific humanitarian catastrophe” and calling the attacks on the airport “a grave violation of international laws and norms”.

The Houthis, in a statement attributed to a military source, said on Friday that they launched an attack on “the Saudi forces’ command headquarters in the Badr camp in Aden province” as well as a weapons depot, the AFP news agency reported.

The latest attack in Aden, which is the seat of the internationally recognised government, comes amid continued heavy fighting in Yemen’s reignited civil war between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Yemeni government forces said earlier on Friday that troops had advanced in Marib province northeast of Sanaa.

Military spokesman Majed al-Nazili said Yemeni government forces, with air support, had made significant “territorial gains” in the eastern part of the province, securing “key positions”.

He also said Yemeni forces had “neutralised” more than 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours, while destroying or disabling more than 100 of their vehicles and military assets.

Elsewhere, in Taiz governorate, which has emerged as a key battlefront in the war, Yemeni government forces claimed to have fended off several “large-scale” Houthi attacks, inflicting “heavy losses” on the group.

Yemeni government forces also claimed to have captured a specialised drone team affiliated with the Houthis in the Taiz area.

In recent weeks, Houthi forces have encircled the city of Taiz — Yemen’s third largest urban centre — by ⁠cutting its main road south to Aden, causing widespread ⁠displacement and worsening a humanitarian crisis.

Missiles over Riyadh

Elsewhere on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had downed missiles and drones over Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging Houthi attacks against the kingdom, including by arming and training the group.

But Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday rejected the accusation, saying Tehran had not played a role in any Houthi operations. The ministry also reiterated a proposal to mediate between the Houthis and Riyadh.

The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), seized the capital, Sanaa, and forced the government to flee.

An international military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in support of the internationally recognised government in 2015, leading to years of fighting between the warring sides.

A 2022 UN-backed truce halted most fighting, but tensions have been high in Yemen since the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabian ports and shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in July.

In September, the Houthis carried out a lightning ground offensive on Mocha, pushing back forces loyal to Yemen’s government from the Red Sea port city.

The same month, the group’s forces again swept through and seized territory along the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the strategically located Mayyun Island in the strait.