Houthi Attack on Presidential Headquarters in Aden (Video)

Yemen's Houthis have carried out a missile strike on the presidential headquarters in Aden, which is used by the Saudi-backed government.

Yemen's Houthis launched a missile attack on the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden, where the internationally recognized Saudi-backed government is based.

The group claimed that several Saudi officials and mercenaries were killed in the attack, while the government confirmed only two deaths among security guards. Later in the day, this figure was changed to five dead and at least 16 injured.

Al-Mashik presidential palace was hit by at least five missiles on Thursday, and images were circulated online showing black smoke and a large pile of dust coming out of the compound. Muammar al-Ariani, the Minister of Information of Yemen, said that the prime minister and the members of the cabinet were in the compound during the attack, but they were saved from the attack.

The militant group, officially called the Ansarullah Movement, said the complex was run by Saudi officers as a military operations headquarters and used as a weapons depot. The Houthis claimed that there were several casualties in this place.

Yahya Saree, the military spokesman of this group, said: "The attack on the headquarters of the military operations of the Saudi enemy in Aden is within the framework of the policy that was announced earlier: to target Saudi military centers wherever they are and to consider any military presence of the Saudi enemy as a legal target for our forces wherever they are located."

Since 2014, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war, which was exacerbated by the Saudi-led intervention that began in March 2015 to prevent the imminent takeover of the Houthis. The conflict subsided after a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but has recently returned to all-out war.

During September, Ansarullah inflicted a decisive defeat on pro-Saudi forces on Yemen's west coast by reaching the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The most intense conflicts are currently around the country's third largest city, Taiz, which is under the control of the Aden-based government. Houthi forces have cut off the city and are reporting daily advances and intensifying the siege.

The rematch is marked by long-range attacks from both sides. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and international airports, and have warned airlines to stop operating in the country. Riyadh has carried out airstrikes against the Houthis, and both sides have repeatedly accused each other of attacking civilian targets.