Houthi missile attack on Yemeni presidential palace kills five, minister says
Yemen's information minister says the prime minister and other ministers were unhurt when ballistic missiles hit al-Maashiq Palace.
Key points
- Five killed and 16 injured in Houthi missile attack on Aden's presidential palace.
- Yemen's information minister said the prime minister and ministers were unhurt.
- Saudi deputy foreign minister accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis to escalate.
Five people have been killed and 16 injured in a Houthi missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden, southern Yemen, officials said. The city is the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government.
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. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck what he called the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden.
Government response
Yemeni health minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the casualties included those working to guard the site and civilian employees. Prime Minister Shaya Zindani condemned the attack as cowardly and a continuation of criminal behaviour.
Zindani said the government continued to carry out its duties and vowed the attack would not weaken its forces' resolve to continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines.
We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran.
— Rayed Krimly
Regional escalation
The Houthis earlier denied attacking Saudi Arabia on Thursday, after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a cruise missile in the Medina region. On Saturday, a Houthi missile strike killed 13 people at Riyadh's international airport, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
Saudi deputy foreign minister Rayed Krimly accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis to escalate, saying Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. There was no immediate response from Iran's government, which has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and said it only supports them politically.
