At least six explosions went off on Thursday near the palace used by Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the port city of Aden, witnesses said. An official told the Associated Press that at least two people were killed, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in northern Yemen quickly claimed responsibility. Yemeni government military sources told Agence France Press (AFP) that at least four people were killed and 10 wounded. An AFP journalist saw smoke rising and city residents reported hearing explosions during the attack, the first on the complex since Yemen’s civil war broke out in July. attack on the palace area, as fighting between rebels and a Saudi-led coalition has intensified on the latest front of the Iran war. The explosions caused panic among residents, who fled the area. At least two people were killed and six wounded, said the official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The government said the Houthis attacked with missiles and drones, the Aden-based Saba news agency reported. A security official told the AP that at least two explosions occurred at the top of the hill near the Al-Maashiq palace, and another two near the security gate. The official added that the command center was hit by three missiles, and the headquarters of coalition forces in the presidential complex by two missiles, adding that there were Yemeni and Saudi casualties, without providing a specific number of casualties. There was no immediate confirmation of reports that the prime minister was in the presidential palace at the time of the Houthi attack. Many of Yemen’s government leaders live in exile, and those in Aden were safe, a government official told the AP. The Houthis said they attacked a military operations headquarters with the “Saudi enemy,” part of their strategy of attacking Saudi targets that has included a series of attacks on airports and oil infrastructure within the kingdom. Regional aviation is also affected, as the rebels have warned airlines about using Saudi airspace for attacks. Thousands of flights across the kingdom have been disrupted. Earlier on Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted a cruise missile over Medina province. Flightradar24, a tracking platform, said dozens of flights were canceled or delayed at Jeddah airport. The coalition statement did not place blame on the attack. The Houthis’ military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, denied that the rebels had carried it out. The group previously pledged not to attack airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also said it destroyed a drone over the country’s eastern province, a major oil-producing region, and intercepted a drone in Khamis Mushait, near a major military air base. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia said the headquarters of oil giant Saudi Aramco was hit by Houthi attacks and reported damage to the building. Inside Yemen, fighting has reignited a devastating civil war after four years of relative calm. A focus of alarm is the Houthi-besieged city of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, where residents were going without basic needs.
