Five killed in Houthi strike on presidential palace in Aden

Houthi missile attack on Yemen's presidential palace in Aden kills five and injures 16.

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A Houthi missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen, has killed five people and injured 16, according to Yemeni officials. The attack targeted the al-Maashiq Palace, which serves as the seat of the internationally-recognised government in the country.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, stated that the group struck 'the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden' as part of their declared policy of targeting 'Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located'.

The attack was the first of its kind in the present conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia on Aden's al-Maashiq palace. The Houthi-run news agency SABA claimed that the headquarters were run by Saudi officers and that there were weapons depots there.

Yemen's Prime Minister Shaya Zindani condemned the Houthis' attack on Aden, calling it 'cowardly' and a 'continuation of their criminal behaviour'. He vowed that the government would not weaken its resolve to continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines.

The attack comes as fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces intensified in Taiz, which is effectively under siege by the Houthis. Controlling Taiz, Yemen's third city and the broader Taiz governorate, in the southwest of the country would ensure control over the critical Bab al-Mandeb strait for either side.

The Saudi-led coalition has accused the Houthis of obtaining missile parts from regional states. The coalition has also accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis to escalate their conflict with Saudi Arabia.