Missiles hit Aden airport as Saudi-led coalition intercepts missile headed for Yanbu

• Missiles hit Aden International Airport in southern Yemen, but no casualties were reported. A Yemenia flight to Cairo was preparing to take off when the attack happened.
• The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at Yanbu, plus two cruise missiles and three drones. Yanbu is a key Saudi oil export hub.
• The attacks add to rising regional tension and Yemen’s worsening war. The Houthis and coalition fighting has raised fears for shipping, oil supplies and the humanitarian crisis.

Missiles struck Aden International Airport in southern Yemen on Oct 16, while a Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile headed for the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil hub that allows exports to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The coalition said it had also destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones in Saudi Arabia’s southern and Riyadh regions. It did not identify those behind the attacks.

In Aden, two missiles landed on the airport grounds, the Aden Security Department said, blaming the Iran-aligned Houthi group. It said the incident was the second attack on the facility in less than a week.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility.

No casualties were reported. A Yemenia Airways flight bound for Cairo was preparing for take-off when the missiles landed, the security department said.

Yanbu is a key outlet for Saudi oil exports, allowing the kingdom to ship crude to international markets via the Red Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway has been largely throttled by Iran since the US and Israel launched attacks on the country in February.

With regional tensions and security threats raising concerns over the safety of shipping and tighter global energy supplies, Brent crude oil briefly touched US$110 a barrel on Oct 16 for the first time since May.

Saudi Civil Defense authorities issued an alert early on Oct 17 for Abha in south-western Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border before sending an all-clear. Earlier, they had issued alerts in the Jazan region and the south-western city of Khamis Mushait, where such warnings have become frequent since fighting resumed in September.

Also early on Oct 17, Houthi-affiliated media reported strikes east of Yemen’s north-western city of Saada. The Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in the area.

Fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government has raised fears of a further deterioration in the country’s humanitarian crisis. Aid agencies have warned that conditions are worsening rapidly.

The Yemen conflict has become another front in the wider regional war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Yemen’s war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognised government south. A Saudi-led intervention began the following year, leading to years of stalemate before a 2022 truce that held until 2026.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia since the conflict reignited, targeting airports, oil facilities and other infrastructure.

In recent days, the group has also targeted sites in government-held parts of Yemen, including Aden airport and the presidential palace in the interim capital.

A spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry said on Oct 16 that 124 civilians had been killed and 327 wounded in what he described as “Saudi aggression” since the escalation began on Sept 3.

Reuters could not independently verify the figures. REUTERS