Three witnesses told they heard loud booms in the vicinity of the palace. (Photo/X user)
The Houthi rebels fired several missiles at a presidential palace complex in Yemen's Aden. The attack marks a massive escalation by the Iran-backed militias, supposedly aimed at expanding their dominance beyond the territory they currently hold in the region.Yemen's prime minister and ministers who were at the complex in Aden were unharmed, two government officials told new agency Reuters. However, some reports claim two security guards in the palace have been killed in the attack.Three witnesses had earlier told Reuters they heard loud booms in the vicinity of the palace. Meanwhile, news agency AP reported that at least six explosions rocked the hill.Amid the raging battle against Saudi Arabia, the attack gains significance as the palace houses the internationally recognised government, which also has the firm backing of the Kingdom.The Shia rebels have stepped up their aggression, which had been almost negligible following the UN-brokered 2022 truce.The Houthis began attacking Saudi territory and blocking the Red Sea in solidarity with Iran, which has been continuously bombed by the US and Israel to dissuade the Islamic regime from enriching uranium to acquire nuclear weapons.
The attack on presidential palace comes just hours after Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said that the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi Arabia intensified.
The Houthis have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites for a week, in response to the kingdom's backing of government forces in Yemen's renewed civil war. The coalition's latest statement highlighted the risk to Saudi civilian infrastructure as the conflict escalated.Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said at a press conference that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others.
The airport, one of Saudi Arabia's main international aviation hubs, was among the civilian infrastructure targeted in what the coalition described as a series of attacks.The coalition also said Houthi attacks on Abha airport, in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border, had killed three people and wounded 28.Maliki said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of "regional actors," including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.The spokesperson also said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen's mountainous areas.