Houthi missile attack on Yemeni presidential palace kills five, minister says

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Houthi missile attack on Yemeni presidential palace kills five, minister saysImage source, UGCImage caption, Verified video footage showed smoke above the presidential palace in AdenByOrla Guerin, Senior International Correspondent, Reporting fromAden and David GrittenPublished15 October 2026Updated 52 minutes agoFive people have been killed and 16 injured in a Houthi missile attack targeting the presidential palace in the port city of Aden in southern Yemen, which is the seat of the internationally-recognised government, officials say. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told the that the prime minister and other ministers were unhurt when five ballistic missiles hit al-Maashiq Palace. The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said they struck "the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden".

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia backs the government and is providing air support for an offensive by pro-government forces against the Iran-backed Houthis. Yemeni health minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the casualties included "those working to guard the site and civilian employees". The country's Prime Minister Shaya Zindani condemned the Houthis' attack on Aden, calling it "cowardly" and a "continuation of their criminal behaviour".

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He said the government continued to carry out its duties and vowed that it would not weaken the resolve of its forces to continue operations against the Houthis on Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and other front lines. Earlier, the Houthis denied that they had attacked Saudi Arabia on Thursday, after the coalition said its forces had intercepted a cruise missile in the Medina region, home to one of Islam's holiest shrines. The Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at airports, oil and gas facilities, and military bases in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the strikes on the territory that they control in western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

On Saturday, a Houthi missile strike killed 13 people at Riyadh's international airport, which was the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia's deputy foreign minister accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis to escalate their conflict with the kingdom. "Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions," Rayed Krimly told reporters, according to news agency.

"We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran," he added. There was no immediate response from Iran's government. However, it has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and said it only supports them politically.

Iran's foreign minister has also said it is ready to provide "any assistance necessary to facilitate the start of talks" between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised government from Sanaa.

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