The Iran-backed Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), have fired missiles at the presidential palace in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, killing five people and wounding 16, on Thursday.
asserted
Houthis → back → Thursday
On Friday, two missiles landed on the grounds of Aden International Airport as a passenger plane prepared to take off for Cairo.
asserted
plane → land → Cairo
After the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the internationally recognised government of Yemen decamped to Aden with the backing of a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries.
asserted
government → seize → countries
The latest attacks come as Yemen’s war, largely frozen under a 2022 truce, has reignited and become another front in the wider regional conflict involving Iran.
asserted
war → come → Iran
So what has happened in Aden, and why does it matter?
asserted
it → happen → Aden
Here’s what you need to know:
asserted
you → ’ → what
What happened at Maashiq Palace?
asserted
What → happen → Palace
The Houthis hit the Al-Maashiq Presidential Palace with five missiles, according to Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani.
uncertain
Houthis → hit → Eryani
Health Minister Qasem Buhaibeh said the dead and wounded included guards and civilian employees.
asserted
dead → say → guards
The government said Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and other officials were safe, but two of his bodyguards had been killed.
asserted
two → say → bodyguards
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had struck what he called the “Saudi military operations headquarters” in Aden.
asserted
he → say → Aden
What happened at the airport?
asserted
What → happen → airport
On Friday, two missiles landed on the airport’s grounds, according to the Aden Security Department, which blamed the Houthis.
uncertain
which → land → Houthis
It said it was the second attack on the facility in less than a week.
asserted
it → say → week
Yemenia Flight 612 to Cairo was preparing for takeoff.
asserted
Flight → prepare → takeoff
Al-Eryani said the missiles landed about 500 metres (1,600ft) from the aircraft.
asserted
missiles → say → aircraft
No casualties were reported.
asserted
casualties → report → ?
Al-Eryani called the strike “a direct threat to the lives of passengers and aviation crews”.
asserted
Eryani → call → passengers
The Houthi-run Saba agency claimed the group was targeting a military headquarters and weapons depots inside Badr Camp, a military site next to the airport.
asserted
group → run → airport
The government moved there after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, by force in 2014 and later imposed their own government.
asserted
Houthis → move → government
The al-Maashiq Palace is the internationally recognised government’s headquarters and its seat of power.
asserted
Palace → recognise → power
The Houthis currently control much of the country’s north and west.
asserted
Houthis → control → north
Fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi coalition supporting the government had largely ended following a 2022 ceasefire.
asserted
Fighting → support → ceasefire
But in September, the Houthis launched a lightning offensive along the Red Sea coast, seizing territory overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.
asserted
Houthis → launch → Sea
Nearly two weeks ago, government forces launched a counteroffensive dubbed “Operation Dawn of Yemen” with Saudi air support, but have so far failed to reverse those gains.
asserted
forces → launch → gains
Saree said the Houthi attacks on Aden were part of the group’s declared policy of targeting “Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located”.
asserted
they → say → reinforcements
The city has been hit before.
asserted
city → hit → ?
In December 2020, an attack on Aden airport as a new cabinet arrived from Saudi Arabia killed at least 22 people.
asserted
cabinet → arrive → people
A second attack hit the palace where ministers had been taken to safety.
asserted
ministers → hit → safety
The coalition blamed the Houthis, who denied responsibility.
asserted
who → blame → responsibility
On Thursday, Rayed Krimly, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy, blamed Iran for having “encouraged” the escalation.
asserted
Krimly → blame → escalation
He said the Iran-backed Houthis had rejected an offer to meet for talks in Oman when the latest round of hostilities began.
asserted
round → say → hostilities
Tehran denied the claim on Friday.
uncertain
Tehran → deny → Friday
“The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.
uncertain
Baghaei → reject → operations
Baghaei said Iran “has always been ready to use its good offices to help end the hostilities”, offering again to mediate.
asserted
Iran → say → hostilities
Canada’s embassy in Saudi Arabia condemned the palace attack and called for “an immediate de-escalation of hostilities”.
“We stand in solidarity with the internationally recognised Government of Yemen and the Yemeni people,” the Canadian embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a post on X.
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council condemned escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including those affecting civil aviation and energy infrastructure.
asserted
Council → condemn → aviation
The governing council of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization also condemned recent attacks on civilian airports and aircraft in Saudi Arabia.
asserted
council → govern → Arabia
On October 9, Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, told the UNSC the country had slid back into “full-scale war”.
asserted
country → tell → war
What is happening in the wider conflict?
asserted
What → happen → conflict
Fighting resumed in July, ending a 2022 truce.
asserted
Fighting → resume → truce
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
