Houthi Strike on Aden Presidential Palace Kills Five as Saudi Coalition Reports 17 Dead in Riyadh Airport Attacks

Aden Palace Attack

Houthi rebels carried out a missile and drone attack on Yemen’s presidential Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden on Thursday, killing five people including two members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani’s security detail. [1] The strike also injured 16 people, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry. [1] Yemen’s Health Minister Qasim Mohammed Buhaibeh said the casualties included security personnel and civilian employees working at the government complex. [1] The prime minister and cabinet members were unharmed, and Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani confirmed they were safe. [5] Witnesses reported hearing loud booms near the palace. [5] Yemen’s Cabinet stated that the attack would not affect the government’s operations or its campaign against the Houthis. [1] In a statement, the cabinet said “Yemen’s future will not be held hostage by a militia that bears arms against its own people, targets the security of its neighbors, and relies on violence to compensate for the Yemeni people’s rejection of its coup-driven agenda.” [1] Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted what it described as a Saudi military operations headquarters inside the compound, as part of a declared policy of striking Saudi military build-ups wherever located. [5] The Houthi-run news agency SABA reported that the headquarters was run by Saudi officers and contained weapons depots, though Reuters could not independently verify the claims. [5] The attack marked the first strike on the palace complex in the current phase of the conflict. [5]

Saudi Coalition Report on Airport Attacks

Houthi missile and drone strike hits Aden presidential palace, killing five. — Source: xinhua

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have killed 17 people and injured more than 330 others since Oct. 1, with the airport coming under 20 attacks during the two-week period. [2] Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh on Oct. 15, Al-Maliki presented statistics showing that from March 26, 2016, to Oct. 15, 2026, the Houthis had launched 1,104 ballistic missiles and 1,135 drones, and used 118 explosive-laden boats and 278 naval mines. [2] He added that the coalition had destroyed 127 Houthi storage facilities in recent days. [2] The coalition also reported that Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia had killed three people and wounded 28. [5] Al-Maliki said the Houthis had acquired military technologies with the assistance of what he described as “regional parties” and had established weapons storage facilities in mountainous areas of Yemen’s Sanaa, Saada and Amran provinces. [2] He insisted that Saudi air defense systems were effective in intercepting missiles and drones. [2]

Houthi Warnings and Saudi Interceptions

The attack on the palace came less than an hour after Houthi forces renewed warnings that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe and that they retained the capability to “respond in kind” to ongoing Saudi attacks on Yemen. [1] Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, renewing a warning to airlines while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. [5] The Houthis rejected allegations that they had carried out any attack toward Saudi territory on the day of the press conference. [2] Earlier on Thursday, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile in the Medina region. [2] Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority issued an early-warning alert over a potential threat in the southern province of Najran before saying the danger had passed. [5] Later, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone in the southwestern Saudi Arabian city of Khamis Mushait and another launched towards the country’s southern region. [5]

Damage to Saudi Infrastructure

Houthi missile and drone strike hits Yemen's presidential palace in Aden. — Source: middleeasteye

Arabian Gulf monarchies have “suppressed” information about the extent of damage done to their physical infrastructure by attacks from Iran and its allies, according to a Reuters report cited by Middle East Eye. [3] More recently, Saudi Arabia has come under attack from the Houthis in Yemen. [3] The Houthis and Iran targeted civilian infrastructure like pipelines, energy facilities and, in one case, a nuclear energy plant. [3] Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said that a Houthi drone strike caused a “limited fire” at the headquarters of the kingdom’s national oil company, Aramco, in Dhahran. [3] Reuters reported on Wednesday that the headquarters suffered “extensive damage.” [3] Reuters’ assessment is likely to cast new doubt on how Gulf states describe strikes on their territories. [3]

Impact on Saudi Sporting Events

Several major sporting events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed as a result of repeated deadly attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels against the Kingdom’s airports and infrastructure. [4] FRANCE 24 reported on the postponements amid the ongoing threats to Saudi infrastructure. [4]

Broader Conflict Context

The strike is one of the highest-profile attacks on the Yemeni government since its launch earlier this month of operation “Yemen’s Dawn,” the latest campaign in its long-running war against the rebels. [1] The renewed fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces resumed last month. [5] Last week, government forces launched a campaign to recapture areas controlled by the Houthis, recovering ground near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. [5] Residents of Taiz, northwest of Aden, have said they face intensifying bombardment and dwindling supplies as the Houthis tighten their grip on areas around the city. [5] War broke out in Yemen in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, driving the government south. [5] A Saudi-led military intervention the following year led to a bloody stalemate before a 2022 truce that held until this year. [5] In that phase of the conflict Houthi fighters and allied forces briefly seized al-Maashiq palace during a battle for Aden, before withdrawing. [5] The governing council of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization condemned the recent attacks on civilian airports, aircraft, and aviation infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. [5]

What to watch next: The coalition said it will continue its operations to counter Houthi military capabilities and threats to Saudi Arabia’s security and maritime navigation in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.