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

Five 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 BBC 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".

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 AFP 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. The conflict escalated in 2015, after the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule.

A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said they were retaliating for what they call a Saudi blockade of their territory, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.

The conflict escalated in September after the Houthis seized part of Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint for global shipping. Their advance contributed to a rise in oil prices following six months of war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Last week, pro-government forces said they had regained control of territory overlooking Bab al-Mandab after launching a major counter-offensive with the support of Saudi air strikes.

At least 1,282 people have been killed and 5,890 injured in the fighting in Yemen since 6 August, according to the government's health ministry.

The UN says another 201,000 people have been displaced and that there has been an alarming surge in suspected cholera cases.