Yemen’s government says Houthis fired two missiles at Aden airport

Attack comes as Yemeni gov’t forces claim advances in Marib province and say they ‘neutralised’ 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours.

Aden International Airport in Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government in Yemen [File: Saleh al-Obeidi/AFP]

Yemen’s internationally recognised government says the Houthis have launched missiles at the airport in Aden, a day after carrying out a deadly attack targeting the presidential palace in the port city.

Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said two missiles landed near the runway at Aden International Airport on Friday, 500 metres (1,640 feet) from an aircraft that was preparing to take off.

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All passengers and crew were safe, he said on X, thanking “divine providence” for preventing a potential “horrific humanitarian catastrophe” and calling the attacks on the airport “a grave violation of international laws and norms”.

The Houthis, in a statement attributed to a military source, said on Friday that they launched an attack on “the Saudi forces’ command headquarters in the Badr camp in Aden province” as well as a weapons depot, the AFP news agency reported.

The latest attack in Aden, which is the seat of the internationally recognised government, comes amid continued heavy fighting in Yemen’s reignited civil war between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Yemeni government forces said earlier on Friday that troops had advanced in Marib province northeast of Sanaa.

Military spokesman Majed al-Nazili said Yemeni government forces, with air support, had made significant “territorial gains” in the eastern part of the province, securing “key positions”.

He also said Yemeni forces had “neutralised” more than 430 Houthi fighters in 24 hours, while destroying or disabling more than 100 of their vehicles and military assets.

Elsewhere, in Taiz governorate, which has emerged as a key battlefront in the war, Yemeni government forces claimed to have fended off several “large-scale” Houthi attacks, inflicting “heavy losses” on the group.

Yemeni government forces also claimed to have captured a specialised drone team affiliated with the Houthis in the Taiz area.

In recent weeks, Houthi forces have encircled the city of Taiz — Yemen’s third largest urban centre — by ⁠cutting its main road south to Aden, causing widespread ⁠displacement and worsening a humanitarian crisis.

Missiles over Riyadh

Elsewhere on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had downed missiles and drones over Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging Houthi attacks against the kingdom, including by arming and training the group.

But Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday rejected the accusation, saying Tehran had not played a role in any Houthi operations. The ministry also reiterated a proposal to mediate between the Houthis and Riyadh.

The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), seized the capital, Sanaa, and forced the government to flee.

An international military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in support of the internationally recognised government in 2015, leading to years of fighting between the warring sides.

A 2022 UN-backed truce halted most fighting, but tensions have been high in Yemen since the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabian ports and shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in July.

In September, the Houthis carried out a lightning ground offensive on Mocha, pushing back forces loyal to Yemen’s government from the Red Sea port city.

The same month, the group’s forces again swept through and seized territory along the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the strategically located Mayyun Island in the strait.

袭击发生之际，也门政府军声称在马里卜省取得进展，并表示他们在 24 小时内“消灭”了 430 名胡塞武装分子。

亚丁国际机场，位于也门国际公认政府所在地亚丁。[图片：Saleh al-Obeidi/法新社]

也门国际公认的政府称，胡塞武装向亚丁机场发射了导弹。此前一天，胡塞武装对这座港口城市的总统府发动了致命袭击。

也门新闻部长穆阿迈尔·埃里亚尼表示，周五有两枚导弹落在亚丁国际机场跑道附近，距离一架正在准备起飞的飞机500米（1640英尺）。

也门三户家庭寻找失踪亲人的努力因新的冲突而受阻（列表1/3）。

也门政府对胡塞武装阵地发动空袭（共3条记录，此为第2条）

胡塞武装袭击沙特阿美石油公司，此前数小时，沙特领导的联军袭击了萨那石油设施

他在X电台表示，所有乘客和机组人员都安全，感谢“神的眷顾”阻止了一场潜在的“可怕的人道主义灾难”，并称对机场的袭击“严重违反了国际法律和规范”。

据法新社报道，胡塞武装周五发表声明，援引军方消息人士的话称，他们对“位于亚丁省巴德尔营地的沙特军队指挥总部”以及一个武器库发动了袭击。

此次袭击发生在亚丁，亚丁是国际社会公认的也门政府所在地。与此同时，沙特支持的也门政府与伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间再次爆发内战，双方战斗仍在激烈进行。

也门政府军周五早些时候表示，部队已在萨那东北部的马里卜省取得进展。

军方发言人马吉德·纳齐利表示，也门政府军在空中支援下，在该省东部取得了重大“领土胜利”，并控制了“关键阵地”。

他还表示，也门军队在 24 小时内“消灭”了 430 多名胡塞武装分子，同时摧毁或使其 100 多辆车辆和军事装备瘫痪。

在战争的关键战场——塔伊兹省，也门政府军声称击退了胡塞武装的多次“大规模”袭击，给该组织造成了“重大损失”。

也门政府军还声称在塔伊兹地区俘获了一支与胡塞武装有关联的专业无人机小组。

最近几周，胡塞武装包围了也门第三大城市塔伊兹，切断了通往亚丁的南部主要道路，导致大范围流离失所，加剧了人道主义危机。

导弹飞越利雅得

周五，沙特领导的打击也门胡塞武装的联军表示，他们在利雅得和沙特阿拉伯其他地区击落了导弹和无人机。

沙特阿拉伯指责伊朗鼓励胡塞武装袭击沙特王国，包括向该组织提供武器和训练。

但伊朗外交部周五驳斥了这一指控，称德黑兰并未参与胡塞武装的任何行动。该部还重申了其在胡塞武装和利雅得之间进行调解的提议。

也门战争于 2014 年爆发，当时胡塞武装（又称安萨尔真主，阿拉伯语意为“真主的支持者”）占领了首都萨那，迫使政府逃亡。

2015年，由沙特阿拉伯领导的国际军事联盟介入，支持国际社会承认的政府，导致交战双方持续多年战斗。

2022 年联合国支持的停火协议停止了大部分战斗，但自胡塞武装 7 月宣布对沙特阿拉伯港口和途经曼德海峡的船只实施海上封锁以来，也门的紧张局势一直很高。

9 月，胡塞武装对摩卡发动闪电地面进攻，将效忠也门政府的部队从这座红海港口城市击退。

同月，该组织的部队再次席卷并占领了西海岸和曼德海峡沿岸的领土，其中包括海峡中具有战略意义的马云岛。