Houthi Missiles Strike Yemen's Presidential Palace in Aden, Two Guards Killed, PM Unharmed

 

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired several missiles at the Maashiq presidential palace complex in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday, killing two members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani's security detail in the first strike of its kind on the seat of the country's internationally recognised government.

Three witnesses told Reuters they heard loud booms in the vicinity of the palace before plumes of smoke were seen rising over the complex. Yemen's information minister, Moammar al-Eryani, said the Houthis had fired five missiles at the compound, which serves as the headquarters of the Saudi-backed government.

Main News Report

According to two Yemeni government officials who spoke to Reuters, the attack took place on Thursday afternoon at the Al-Maashiq Palace complex in Aden, the interim capital and de facto seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government. CNN reported that the strike killed two members of the prime minister's security detail.

• Target: The Al-Maashiq presidential palace complex in Aden, housing the prime minister's office, the cabinet and government institutions.
• Casualties: Two security guards killed, according to government officials; Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani and members of his cabinet, who were at the complex, were unharmed.
• Houthi claim: The Houthi-run Saba news agency, citing a military official, said the group had targeted a military operations headquarters run by Saudi officers at the complex, as well as weapons depots. Reuters noted it could not independently verify the claims.
• Official response: Yemen's Ministry of Information said the prime minister was safe following the strike, while the cabinet later said the attack involved both missiles and drones but would not affect the government's operations or its campaign against the Houthis.

Al Jazeera correspondents reported explosions near the palace earlier on Thursday, with the channel's reporter in Sanaa describing the strikes on the headquarters of the internationally recognised government as the "first of their kind".

Background Context

Aden has served as the interim capital of Yemen's internationally recognised government since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition has backed the government in its long fight against the Iran-aligned rebel group, and the renewed civil war has intensified sharply in recent days as the US-Iran confrontation widened.

The Aden strike came on the same day the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, as fighting between the group and Saudi Arabia intensified. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333, and that Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia had killed three people and wounded 28.

Fighting has also intensified in Taiz, Yemen's third city, which is effectively under siege by the Houthis, while control of the area would shape command of the critical Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Reactions and Statements

Yemen's government: The Ministry of Information confirmed that "Prime Minister Dr. Shaya Al-Zindani and members of the government are safe" following what it called a missile attack by the Houthi militia on Al-Maashiq Palace. The cabinet later said the attack would not disrupt government operations or its campaign against the Houthis.

Houthis: Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strike on what he described as a Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden was part of the group's declared policy of "targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they are", warning that any Saudi military presence was considered a legitimate target.

Saudi-led coalition: At a press conference, spokesperson Turki al-Maliki called on the Houthis to immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, telling the group to read the coalition's statement carefully and "between the lines". He also said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of "regional actors".

Al Jazeera: Correspondent Yousef Mawry said the attack was "an indication that the escalation is going to intensify between both sides", adding that fears were growing inside the country of "an all-out civil war" that could drag in other regional powers besides Saudi Arabia.

Why This News Matters

Until now, the Houthi campaign has focused on targets inside Saudi Arabia — airports, oil facilities and shipping — but striking the Maashiq palace hits the seat of Yemen's government itself, a qualitative escalation that puts the country's political institutions directly in the line of fire. The prime minister's survival avoids a leadership crisis, but the fact that the rebels could reach the most heavily guarded compound in the interim capital exposes the government's vulnerability.

For the wider region, the strike confirms that the war is no longer contained to the battlefield cities: it now touches the political heart of the internationally recognised government, raising the stakes for Saudi Arabia and for any state with citizens or commercial interests in the Gulf and the Red Sea corridor.

Future Developments

The immediate question is whether Thursday's strike was an isolated operation or the opening of a sustained campaign against Aden's political institutions. CNN described the story as developing, and the Yemeni government has not yet detailed the type of missiles used or the full extent of damage at the palace complex.

Observers will also watch how the Saudi-led coalition responds to both the Aden strike and the renewed attacks on Saudi infrastructure, with its spokesperson's pointed warning suggesting retaliation may be under consideration. With fighting still raging around Taiz and the humanitarian situation worsening across Yemen, the coming days are likely to determine whether this escalation hardens into a broader confrontation.

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