Reports of strike on Aden presidential palace; Houthis deny Mecca target

ADEN — Yemen's government armed forces said on Friday that the Houthis attacked Aden airport and the Maashiq presidential palace with ballistic missiles. The group separately denied a Saudi-led coalition claim that it targeted Mecca with a drone.

A spokesperson for the government forces made the statement, according to Middle East Eye. It gave no details of casualties or damage. It did not say whether the missiles hit their targets.

A police official told AFP the Houthis had aimed two missiles at the presidential palace. A Yemeni police source also told AFP that explosions were heard in the city at the same time, according to BBC News Arabic. Residents in Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, reported hearing two blasts late on Friday, Middle East Eye said.

The Houthis had not commented on the Aden reports in the material available to Zenga News. None of the claims about the palace or the airport has been independently verified.

Mecca claim denied

The coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government is led by Saudi Arabia. Its spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said earlier on Friday that air defences had intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis in the Mecca region.

The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, rejected that account in a post on X. He said Yemen's armed forces had carried out no operation towards Saudi territory that day. He called the claim of an interception over Mecca a grave falsehood. He said the group's operations target Saudi oil facilities and military bases.

Later on Friday, al-Maliki said in two posts on X that air defences had destroyed a drone in the Riyadh region. He said they had also intercepted a ballistic missile that the Houthis fired towards the kingdom's southern region. He said the Riyadh interception caused debris to fall but no injuries.

According to BBC News Arabic, the coalition has described Saudi Arabia as being targeted almost daily in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis several times of aiming ballistic missiles and drones at Mecca and Medina. The group has always denied this, the BBC said.

Government appeals to the UN

Separately, Yemen's government asked the UN Security Council to condemn repeated Houthi attacks on Aden international airport. It also asked the council to take deterrent steps to protect civilians and civilian sites, and to ensure the arms embargo is enforced.

Yemen's permanent representative to the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, set out the request in a letter to the council's president, according to BBC News Arabic. He said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at the airport on 28 October. He described it as the sixth attack on the airport this month. He said the attacks put passengers and staff at risk and forced the diversion of several flights.

The government called the targeting of a civilian airport a "war crime", the BBC reported. It said repeated attacks on civilian facilities require international action that goes beyond statements of concern and condemnation.

At a Security Council session on emerging technology and maritime security, Yemen warned that the Houthis continue to obtain advanced weapons and military technology through smuggling networks and Iranian support. It said this poses a serious challenge to the effectiveness of the sanctions system. The government accused Iran of giving the Houthis military support. It said this let the group widen attacks using ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats, and threaten shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden. Zenga News has not seen a response from Iran or the Houthis to these accusations in the sources reviewed.

Speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly session, the government asked for support in restoring state institutions and achieving security and stability under agreed references, chiefly Security Council Resolution 2216. It also voiced concern about the continuing siege of Taiz, which it said is home to four million people. It warned of serious humanitarian consequences.

Background

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, and Yemeni government forces have been fighting since battles resumed in July, according to BBC News Arabic. Fighting escalated sharply in September. The Houthis made advances along the west coast and in the area of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the BBC said. The strait is a strategic route for shipping between Europe and Asia. Its importance to Riyadh for oil exports has grown, the BBC reported, as Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis have also exchanged missile and air strikes with Saudi Arabia. Their attacks on Saudi targets have included strikes on Riyadh airport. One of them, on 10 October, killed 13 people and wounded hundreds, according to BBC News Arabic. The broadcaster described it as the deadliest attack on Saudi territory in more than a decade. It said 22 people have been killed in attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October.

To counter the attacks, Riyadh has sought international support and military cooperation with other states, including Pakistan and Turkey, the BBC said.

Casualty figures for the Aden reports, the extent of any damage, and the Houthi position on the Aden claims remain unconfirmed.