Aden, Oct 15 (IANS) Five missiles targeted the presidential palace housing Yemen’s government backed by the Saudi-led coalition in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday, a local security official told Xinhua.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missiles targeted Al-Ma’ashiq Palace in Aden’s Crater district, blaming the attack on the Houthi group. Casualties and damage remain unclear, he added.
Loud explosions rocked Aden as smoke rose from the vicinity of the palace, according to a Xinhua reporter on the ground. Residents nearby said the blasts shook their houses.
Meanwhile, the Houthi group on Thursday renewed its warning to international airlines that Saudi airspace and airports were “unsafe,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the warning covered Saudi airspace and airports, except for airspace over the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Earlier in the day, Saree said in a separate statement that the Houthis had not carried out any attack toward Saudi territory during the day, rejecting a Saudi allegation that an attack had been directed toward Medina.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday that it would issue a warning for civilians to evacuate a site in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa ahead of a “special operation.”
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said on social media platform X that the warning would be issued shortly, without providing further details about the site or the operation.
Also on Tuesday, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones north of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The developments came amid escalating hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with both sides exchanging attacks and military warnings in recent days.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government out of the capital. The government is now based in the southern port city of Aden and backed by the Saudi-led coalition.
–IANS
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