Military facilities in Aden, Yemen, were hit on Wednesday by new missile and drone attacks. Fighting in the country is escalating, and Houthi rebels are threatening to block the Red Sea. The attacks follow deadly bombings in areas held by the rebels. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted three cruise missiles fired toward its capital, Riyadh.
The attacks in Aden targeted the largest city in southern Yemen and a major port. The internationally recognized government of the country has moved its seat there. According to the UN, since the outbreak of war in July, at least 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced.
Two missiles struck a camp of the Saudi-led military coalition on the western side of the city, two police sources told AFP. A second camp in central Aden was also targeted by a drone, which was intercepted. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attacks.
However, the pro-Iranian movement Ansarallah, known as the Houthis after the family of its leaders, has carried out frequent attacks on government positions since hostilities resumed last summer. Aden has been under repeated attack since October, with the rebels having even targeted the presidential palace.
The escalation is not limited to Yemen, as the Houthis have also intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting airports, oil facilities and military infrastructure. The coalition led by Riyadh said on Wednesday that it had intercepted three cruise missiles launched by the Houthis at the Saudi capital.
The attacks are part of a new phase of the war, which flared up again in July after several years of relative calm. The Houthis had seized the capital, Sanaa, at the end of 2014, forcing the internationally recognized government to abandon the city and relocate to Aden. As the rebels continued their advance south, Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition that intervened in March 2015 on behalf of government forces.
Despite that intervention, the Houthis still control large areas of Yemen, including almost the entire north. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 was informally observed for several years, until fighting resumed in July 2026.