Houthis target Aden airport as Yemen fighting intensifies

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Aden: Yemen's Houthi movement targeted Aden International Airport with ballistic missiles and drones, the government-run Saba news agency reported on Wednesday, as fighting intensified between the Iran-backed group and government forces supported by Saudi Arabia.

Saba said two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones were used in the attack. The Saudi-led coalition separately said it intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards an area north of Riyadh.

The Houthis claimed they had also targeted Riyadh International Airport, Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks had struck their targets, but Saudi authorities did not confirm the claims.

The latest attacks came after Yemen's military said it had pushed the Houthis back from areas near the Bab al-Mandab strait and the port city of Mocha. The Houthis denied losing territory and said they remained in control of their recent gains along the Red Sea coast.

Both sides' battlefield claims could not be independently verified as fighting continued across several parts of Yemen. Sources from both camps told AFP that more than 270 government troops and Houthi fighters had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia has been providing air support to the Yemeni government's counter-offensive. The Houthis' health ministry also said a Saudi airstrike in Hajjah province had killed six members of one family, including four children.

Government forces reported advances in Taiz and Marib, while military sources said they had cut a supply route to Mocha but stopped short of confirming that the port city had been recaptured.

The renewed fighting has shattered a four-year ceasefire and threatens the Red Sea shipping route, one of the world's key trade corridors. Yemen's government has said it aims to retake all territory held by the Houthis.

Pakistan and Turkey also pledged on Monday to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence agreement.