ADEN, October 25 (Aalimi Nation) – Yemen's Houthi movement launched a fresh round of missile attacks on the southern port city of Aden and on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, officials on both sides said, deepening a conflict that has intensified sharply this month. The Houthis disputed parts of the Saudi account.
Yemen's Transport Ministry said the Houthis struck Aden International Airport with two ballistic missiles, which it described as the fourth such attack on the airport this month. The ministry warned that the strikes threaten the safety of civil aviation and carry humanitarian and economic costs for residents.
Yemeni authorities said the coastguard headquarters and another building in the city were also hit. The Interior Ministry put the strikes on coastguard facilities at three missiles: two on the headquarters in the Khor Maksar area and one on a coastguard building in the Tawahi district. No casualties in Aden were reported in early accounts, and damage assessments had not been confirmed.
The Houthis said they had targeted a military camp and the naval base in Aden.
Saudi civil defence authorities said two Houthi ballistic missiles had been launched towards Mecca and Medina, and warned residents of falling shrapnel after interception. The coalition said it had also intercepted other missiles aimed at Riyadh, Yanbu and Taif, along with a drone over the Eastern Province.
The Houthis rejected the claim about the two cities, calling it a "huge lie". They said their targets were three Saudi airports, oil facilities and an air base.
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned the attacks as "heinous" and a "blatant disregard for the lives and security of civilians".
A Houthi-run media outlet said Saudi-led air strikes had killed several civilians in Sanaa and Hodeidah. It later said 11 people had died in strikes on Sanaa, including six women and a child at a residence for cement factory workers. Saudi Arabia said missile debris had fallen in parts of the Mecca and Medina regions after interceptions. None of the casualty figures could be independently verified, and Riyadh had not commented on the Houthi claims.
Government forces, backed by coalition air support, launched a counteroffensive earlier this month aimed at taking the Red Sea coast around the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route and the city of Mokha. Army spokesman Col. Majed Abdullah al-Nazili said government troops carried out more than 700 "targeting operations" in 24 hours, particularly around Taiz, and "neutralised" 300 Houthi fighters. These figures could not be independently confirmed.
The United Nations has said fighting in Taiz displaced nearly 260,000 people this week. A hospital in the city has warned it could collapse within days because of a Houthi siege.
The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened to counter what it saw as Iranian influence. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted heavy fighting without producing a lasting settlement, and the Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports and energy infrastructure since the truce collapsed in July. The coalition accuses Iran of arming the group; the Houthis and Tehran reject the allegation.
The United States ordered the departure of some personnel from Saudi Arabia on October 21, citing the Houthi threat. No talks between the warring sides have been announced.
