Houthis attacked the international airport in the southern Yemeni town of Aden with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones early on Wednesday, Yemen’s Transport Ministry said, as fighting intensified across several fronts between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces.
The Saudi-led coalition, pushing to retake strategic territory seized by the Houthis, said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The escalation came after Yemeni government forces, with Saudi-led coalition air support, launched a lightning counter-offensive this week to capture the Red Sea coast around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait shipping route and the city of Mocha.
Yemen’s government said that forced the Houthis out of areas they had captured last month, reviving a complex 12-year war, which led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and fragmented the Arab world’s most impoverished country.
One missile landed near the runway at Aden International Airport minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land, the ministry said. Authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, while two planes on the runway were moved away from the area over fears of further strikes, it added. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Aden International Airport is the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control.
Discover more from Keeping Them Honest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.