Ballistic missile attacks rock Yemen's Aden

Aden (Yemen), October 24 (IANS): Loud explosions were heard in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government, on Saturday following a ballistic missile attack, a local security official told Xinhua.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Houthi group fired nearly four ballistic missiles at the city, with some striking near Aden International Airport and key military facilities in the Khormaksar district, and another hitting the Coast Guard Troops headquarters in Al-Tawahi district.The blasts shook buildings across parts of Aden, residents told Xinhua, with plumes of smoke seen rising from the targeted areas. Casualties and damage were not immediately known.The attack marked the latest in a series of Houthi missile strikes on Aden. On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed a ballistic missile strike on a Saudi military operations room at Badr military base near Aden International Airport, Xinhua News Agency reported.On Tuesday, a military source with the Southern Giants Brigades told Xinhua that government forces, supported by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, had made "little headway across several fronts" and had yet to achieve a major territorial breakthrough."The fighting is continuing, but significant gains have been limited to advances by our forces near Bab al-Mandeb," a strategic strait as the southern gate of the Red Sea, said the source, who requested anonymity.Earlier this month, strikes hit the airport grounds, a military base in the Al-Buraiqa district, and the Al-Ma'ashiq Presidential Palace compound. The government said the October 15 attack on the palace compound killed five people and wounded 16 others.The renewed strikes come amid intensified fighting between the Houthis and government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition. Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting the coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.