Houthis fire missiles at Yemen palace in bid to wipe out Saudi-backed govt, 4 killed

Following the attack, the Houthis said the strike on the "Saudi military operations HQ" in Aden was part of their policy of targeting reinforcements from Riyadh.Missile attack targets Yemen's presidential palace (Credit: X/Basha)New Delhi,Oct 15, 2026 21:14 ISTIn one of the biggest attempts to wipe out Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed government, Iran-backed Houthis fired several missiles at the presidential palace complex in the interim capital, Aden, while the Prime Minister and other ministers were present.At least five missiles hit the complex, killing four people, including two guards, according to international news agencies Reuters and AFP, which cited Yemen’s Information Ministry. Top officials of the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government narrowly escaped.Following the attack, the Houthis said the strike on the “Saudi military operations HQ” in Aden was part of their policy of targeting Saudi reinforcements.Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-aligned group, described the target as a Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden. He said the attack was in line with the group's declared policy of "targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they are," reported Reuters.At least five loud explosions were heard near the presidential palace, while a huge cloud of smoke was seen hovering over the complex, reported Reuters. The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned Houthis had tried to strike dozens of airports, ports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia as fighting between the two sides intensified.The Houthis have launched ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites over the past week in response to the kingdom's support for government forces in Yemen's renewed civil war. The coalition said the escalation posed a threat to civilian infrastructure, while the Houthis renewed their warning that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki told a press conference that the Houthis had carried out 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month. He said the attacks had killed 17 people and wounded 333 others.King Khalid International Airport, one of Saudi Arabia's main international aviation hubs, was among the civilian sites targeted in what the coalition described as a series of attacks.The coalition also said Houthi attacks on Abha airport in south-western Saudi Arabia, near the Yemeni border, had killed three people and wounded 28 others.Maliki said the Houthis had obtained advanced military technology with support from "regional actors". He said the weapons included ballistic missiles, drones and fast boats carrying explosives.He also said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage sites and launch platforms in Yemen's mountainous regions.Maliki called on the Houthis to immediately stop operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. He said the group should carefully examine the coalition's statement and read "between the lines".Soon after the coalition issued its statement, the Houthi military spokesperson renewed a warning to airlines, saying Saudi airports and airspace were unsafe. The warning excluded the airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.Yemen has been in conflict since the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely brought major fighting to a halt, and an informal ceasefire continued after the agreement expired six months later.However, attempts to convert the truce into a lasting political settlement have stalled amid rising regional tensions. The latest exchanges included coalition allegations of attacks on Saudi civilian facilities and a Houthi warning to airlines about the kingdom's airports and airspace.- Ends