Aden (TIP): Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck targets in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Thursday in retaliation for attacks in the southern port city of Aden the previous day that took place as officials in a government backed by Riyadh arrived there. As many as 25 persons were killed and 110 injured in Wednesday’s attack on the Aden airport, which took place just as members of Hadi’s new cabinet arrived from Saudi Arabia. A second attack was made on the Maasheq palace, where they had been taken to safety.
Yemeni Communication Minister Naguib al-Awg, who was on the plane, said he heard two explosions, suggesting they were drone attacks. Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and the others were quickly whisked from the airport to the Mashiq Palace. Military and security forces sealed off the area around the palace.
The coalition accused the Houthi movement, which it has been fighting for six years, of staging the attack on the Aden airport and a second one on the presidential palace.
Thursday’s coalition air strikes hit the Sanaa airport and several other sites in and around the city, residents said. Loud blasts were heard and warplanes flew overhead for several hours, they said.
Houthi-run Masirah television said the planes hit at least 15 locations in different districts in the capital. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Coalition air strikes have killed thousands, including many civilians, over the course of the war. But they have been less frequent in recent years as the conflict has reached a stalemate.
PM moved to safety
Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and others were quickly whisked from the airport to the Mashiq Palace
— Reuters