Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired missiles at the al-Maashiq presidential palace in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday, October 15, 2026, killing at least two guards in the first direct attack of its kind on the seat of the country’s internationally recognised government.
- Who: Houthi rebels fired on the al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
- What: Five missiles targeted the palace complex, according to Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani; at least two guards were killed.
- When: Thursday, October 15, 2026 — the first Houthi strike on Aden’s presidential palace in the current conflict.
- Why it matters: The attack marks a sharp escalation in Yemen’s renewed civil war, spreading to the government’s own headquarters amid wider regional conflict.
What happened in Aden
Explosions struck the vicinity of the al-Maashiq presidential palace on Thursday, sending plumes of smoke rising over the city, witnesses said. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the Houthis targeted the palace with five missiles and described the attack as a terrorist act. The government’s prime minister and cabinet members were safe, officials said.
Two security guards were killed in the strike, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Arab News, which identified them as members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zandani’s security detail. Yemen’s cabinet said the attack involved both missiles and drones and caused deaths and injuries among palace security personnel. Some government military sources cited in other reports put the toll at four killed and 10 wounded — the figure remains disputed.
The Houthis claimed they bombed what their military spokesperson Yahya Saree described as the Saudi military operations headquarters inside the palace, run by Saudi officers, along with associated weapons depots. The Houthi-run SABA news agency echoed the claim. Reuters said it could not independently verify the Houthi account.
Why the Aden strike matters
Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry, reporting from the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, called the attack the first of its kind against the headquarters of the internationally recognised government and said it signalled the escalation was “going to intensify between both sides.” Aden has served as the seat of Yemen’s government since the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition intervention a year later.
The palace strike came as fighting intensified around Taiz, Yemen’s third city, where pro-government forces said they were repelling a Houthi attack on Dhubab airport near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. Aid agencies have warned that the escalating violence is pushing Taiz’s healthcare system toward breaking point, with the Ministry of Public Health warning of a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
How did the conflict escalate to this point?
Thursday’s attack was the second Houthi strike on Aden since October 5, when the Yemeni government announced a nationwide military operation to retake areas under Houthi control. On October 7, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Aden airport, forcing officials to divert incoming flights.
The same day, the Yemeni Information Ministry said the Houthis fired several ballistic missiles at the central city of Marib, a strategic oil-rich region. The Saudi-led coalition’s spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, said the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month alone, killing 17 people and wounding 333, and said coalition forces intercepted a hostile drone in Khamis Mushait. Reuters reported that the Yemen conflict has become a new theatre in the wider regional war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February 2026.
What happens next
Yemen’s cabinet said the palace attack was part of a broader Houthi escalation spanning Taiz, Lahij, and Saudi Arabia, and insisted Aden would “remain the hub for the operations of state institutions.” Houthi officials said their strikes on Saudi targets — a campaign that has already hit Aramco’s headquarters and Riyadh’s international airport — will continue. With both sides claiming battlefield advances, regional officials fear the Aden strike could mark the start of a wider offensive.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, Al Jazeera
