Symbolic imageHouthi missiles kill five in Aden as Taiz siege nears
Houthi missiles hit the government's palace in Aden on Thursday, killing five. The group is closing in on Taiz while its attacks on Saudi Arabia continue.
Houthi missiles struck Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, on Thursday, 15 October. Yemen's Health Ministry says five security personnel died and 16 were injured; the government says Prime Minister Shasya al-Zindani was unharmed. Houthi state media said the target was a nearby base staffed by Saudi officers, while a government minister told AFP the compound houses command centres of both Yemeni and Saudi coalition forces. A foreign ministry adviser told The National the government will stay in Aden.
Taiz braces for siege
Former prime minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, now an adviser to the president, told The Guardian a full siege of the city, home to over 500,000 people, will come within days. Losing it would cost the government access to the Bab al-Mandab strait and the road to Aden, he said. The National reports shortages of food and fuel.
Saudi events disrupted
After the Houthi strike on Riyadh's airport on 10 October, with reported deaths ranging from 12 to 17, Australia withdrew from the cycling world championships and the Asian Tour postponed the Saudi International. Asian Cup organisers say preparations continue.
Other opinions
Saudi official Rayed Krimly says Iran encourages the escalation, while Iran's Tehran Times calls it the collapse of Saudi Arabia's containment strategy.