Aden blast follows Houthi claim of a missile attack on Badr camp
An explosion was heard near Aden’s airport as the Houthis claimed a ballistic-missile attack on an operations room at Badr camp. Local police and security sources described a strike near the airport, but the precise target and outcome remained independently unconfirmed. No verified casualty toll was given for this Aden incident.
Geopolitics··Evening
Blast and smoke are reported near Aden airport
An explosion was heard in Aden, southern Yemen, on October 21, with smoke rising near the international airport. The Houthis, the Yemeni armed movement fighting the internationally recognised government, claimed a ballistic-missile attack on Badr camp. Their military spokesman Yahya Saree said the target was an operations room used by Saudi forces. The nature of the precise target and the claimed accuracy were not independently established.[1], [2]
An Al Jazeera correspondent in Aden and local police reported the explosion. There was no immediate response from Yemen’s government or the Saudi-led military coalition when that account was published. No verified casualty toll was provided for this incident in Aden.[1]
Local security sources describe a coalition site
A police official in Aden told Agence France-Presse, the international news agency, that a Houthi missile was responsible for the explosion. The official spoke anonymously citing security concerns. Two other security sources told the agency the target was a site near the airport belonging to forces of the Saudi-led coalition. Their descriptions located the reported attack near the airport but did not establish the direct hit on an operations room claimed by the Houthis.[2]
The incident follows earlier attacks on the government’s seat
Aden is the temporary seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which has Saudi support. The October 21 blast was described as the third attack in the city within a week. Earlier incidents targeted the airport and the presidential palace. The Badr camp claim concerns the latest blast; the previously reported attacks involved different facilities and dates. Two missiles had been fired at the airport the previous Friday. The palace attack preceded that airport incident.[1], [2]
The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014. Renewed fighting followed the collapse in July of the fragile truce reached in 2022. The latest attack in Aden occurred as the movement intensified attacks amid military developments near the Saudi border. Neither the explosion nor the group’s statement established a new change of territorial control in Yemen.[1], [2]
