Summary

Yemen's Houthis claimed an attack on a Saudi target in Aden Wednesday, with smoke reportedly rising near the airport, marking the third strike in a week against the seat of the Riyadh-backed government. "Our armed forces were able to target the Saudi enemy's operations room in the Badr camp in Aden with a ballistic missile," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement. A police official in Aden earlier said there had been a blast "caused by a Houthi missile," speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Two other security sources in the city told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the attack targeted a site near the airport that belonged to forces from the Saudi-led military coalition that has been battling the Houthis. Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognized Yemeni government have recently come under sustained attack from the Iran-backed Houthis, shifting the focus of the wider Middle East war that erupted with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Earlier Friday, two missiles landed within the perimeter of the airport, with the Houthis claiming the attack. A day earlier, the Houthis launched a deadly missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden, hitting command centers located inside the al-Maashiq presidential compound, which is used by government forces and the Saudi-led coalition. Al-Jumhuriya TV, meanwhile, reported renewed heavy clashes between Yemeni armed forces and Houthi fighters at the old airport and around Mount Han, west of Taiz city. The developments come amid the internationally recognized government's ongoing military offensive against the Houthis in southwestern Yemen. On Tuesday, the Yemeni army said it had carried out 744 attacks against the group over 24 hours, neutralizing around 200 of its members and destroying or damaging 90 vehicles and other military assets. In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen's capital Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks. Later, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing government-held territory in Yemen along the Red Sea coastline in a lightning campaign. In response, the Saudi air force has been regularly targeting the Houthis in support of the Yemeni government.