ADEN: Yemen’s Houthi group targeted Aden International Airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones on Wednesday as renewed fighting intensified between the group and Saudi-backed government forces.
Yemen’s Transport Ministry said one missile landed close to the airport runway shortly before a flight arriving from Cairo was scheduled to land. The aircraft was diverted to Jeddah, while two planes already at the airport were moved away from the area as authorities prepared for the possibility of further attacks.
No casualties were immediately reported following the attack. The escalation comes as Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi-led coalition air support, carry out a counter-offensive aimed at recovering territory around the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
The Saudi-led coalition separately said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh. It said the missile was launched from Houthi-controlled Sanaa and that the launch platform was being tracked.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree also claimed the group targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with drones and launched attacks against Abha International Airport and a military base in Khamis Mushait.
Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed those airport attack claims. The latest exchanges mark a sharp escalation in Yemen’s long-running conflict, which had seen a significant reduction in large-scale hostilities following a UN-brokered truce in 2022.
The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognised government. Recent fighting has again focused attention on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial maritime route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and one of the world’s key shipping corridors.
