The Houthis are apparently trying to take the fight straight to the heart of the Saudi-backed government in Yemen.
The Shia group allied to Iran targeted Aden's presidential palace with one or more ballistic missiles on Thursday, killing two security personnel in a strike that hit the complex.
Top government leaders were unharmed in the attack on Maashiq Palace, but the deceased security personnel were part of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zandani's security detail. Of total casualties...
Five people were killed, and 16 were injured in the Houthi attack that targeted the al-Maashiq Presidential Palace in Yemen’s Aden, according to the Yemeni health minister.
"Images posted on social media showed thick smoke billowing from the presidential palace, while residents reported hearing explosions around the city," regional sources detail. "It was the second Houthi attack on Aden since Oct. 5, when the Yemeni government announced a nationwide military operation to regain areas under the militia's control."
According to a statement cited in Al Jazeera:
Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi says the suspected Houthi attack on the al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden is “an extension” of attacks against airports and oil facilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Al-Alimi said in a statement that he directed government forces to “take the necessary measures to protect state institutions, counter terrorist threats, and respond appropriately to sources of danger”.
Aden airport has also been targeted in recent weeks, but most of the current fighting is centered in the Taiz region, the southwestern highland area of the country.
⚡️BREAKING: Yemen’s civil war reaches a new level: Houthis strike presidential palace in Aden with missiles Yemen’s prime minister was unharmed. Two people accompanying him were killed.
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 15, 2026
The city of Taiz, which is Yemen's largest, is bracing for a potential Houthi breakthrough:
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Yemen, Hadeel al-Yamani, has reported that the tightening siege by the Houthis on the city of Taiz has led to transport being cut off, resulting in a severe shortage of fuel and worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Al-Yamani reports that rubbish has accumulated, causing dire hygienic conditions due to the lack of access to landfills amid ongoing clashes between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces.
Ballistic missile attacks also targeted Marib on Thursday. "The terrorist Houthi militias, backed by the Iranian regime, are intensifying their targeting of residential neighborhoods in the city of Marib with a number of ballistic missiles," the Yemeni Information Ministry announced on X.
As for the Saudi coalition, it said that its forces carried out 1,250 attacks in the past 24 hours against the Houthis. They are calling it the "Dawn of Yemen" campaign.
A video released by Houthi rebels claims to be engaging with Saudi-led coalition forces in an area of Yemen deemed to be strategically useful due to its proximity to shipping lanes. The fighting shown is said to be in the southwest of Yemen, an area which could offer access to the Red Sea and its shipping. 🔗https://t.co/mLN5nCs9Ns
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 15, 2026
But this hasn't stopped Houthi assaults on neighboring Saudi Arabia, which has brought parts of the country to a standstill, particularly operations at airports.
The Saudi-led coalition has announced that a total of 20 Houthi attacks on Riyadh's international airport have occurred in October, resulting in 17 fatalities. Hundreds have been injured.