Houthi Missiles Hit Aden Presidential Palace Complex, Officials Give Death Toll of 2 to 5

Houthi forces fired missiles at the al-Maashiq presidential palace complex in Aden on Thursday, Oct. 15, striking the seat of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Government officials say Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and his ministers were not hurt.

The death toll is not settled. Yemen's health minister said five people were killed and 16 wounded. An official speaking anonymously to the Associated Press put it at two dead and six wounded. Government military sources told Agence France-Presse at least four were killed and 10 wounded.

The government says two of the dead were members of the prime minister's security detail.

What was hit

Witnesses reported at least six explosions near the palace. A security official told the AP that two struck the top of the hill by the palace and two more landed near the security gate.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the Houthis fired five missiles at the complex. The government's Saba news agency said the attackers used missiles and drones.

A government minister, speaking anonymously, told AFP the strike hit a Saudi-led coalition command center with three missiles and the coalition's headquarters inside the compound with two. He said there were Yemeni and Saudi casualties but gave no figure. Neither the coalition nor Riyadh has confirmed that account.

The Houthis claimed responsibility. They said they hit a military operations headquarters shared with what they called the "Saudi enemy." That is their own account of the target, and it fits the group's declared campaign against Saudi Arabia.

Who was inside

Reuters quoted two government officials saying the prime minister and ministers at the complex were unharmed. A separate minister told AFP that al-Zindani was present during the strike and "was not harmed in any way." A government official told the AP that many Yemeni leaders live in exile and that those in Aden were safe.

The AP said there was no immediate independent confirmation that the prime minister was in the palace at the time.

A wider war

This is the second Houthi attack on Aden since Oct. 5, when the government announced a nationwide military operation to retake territory the Houthis hold. The AFP said it was the first strike on the palace complex since the civil war reignited in July.

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, called the attack "an extension" of Houthi strikes on airports and oil facilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. He ordered government forces to "take the necessary measures to protect state institutions, counter terrorist threats, and respond appropriately to sources of danger."

Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, called the strike the first of its kind against the government's headquarters. He said it signals that "the escalation is going to intensify between both sides." He added that fears of "an all-out civil war" that could pull in regional powers besides Saudi Arabia are growing inside the country.

Most of the ground fighting is in Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which the Houthis effectively besiege. Whoever controls Taiz and its governorate gets a hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Pro-government forces, including the Homeland Shield Force and the Southern Giants Brigades, said they are repelling a Houthi attack on Dhubab airport in the governorate.

Yemen's Ministry of Public Health warned Sunday of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Taiz. Aid agencies say the fighting is pushing the local healthcare system toward collapse.

Saudi Arabia under fire

The Aden strike came hours after the coalition said the Houthis tried to hit dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the group launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month and that 17 people were killed. The coalition also said it intercepted a cruise missile over a Saudi province earlier Thursday. Saudi Civil Defence issued a danger warning for Jazan Province that was later lifted.

Thousands of flights across the kingdom have been disrupted. The Houthis have warned airlines about using Saudi airspace, the AP reported. Global markets have been rattled by repeated attacks on one of the world's top oil exporters.

The Iran connection

The Houthis are backed by Iran. They began hitting Saudi territory and shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Tehran during the war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel. The fighting had been close to dormant after the UN-brokered truce of 2022.

The escalation has complicated efforts to end the wider Iran war, according to the AP.

Two questions remain open. One is whether the coalition confirms losses at its command center in Aden. The other is how al-Alimi's government answers, and whether Taiz holds as the fight over the southwest and the Red Sea chokepoint grows.