Photo via scmp.com
Houthis attack Aden airport as Saudi-backed forces push back on Red Sea coast
Iran-backed rebels target Yemen's main international gateway with ballistic missiles and drones as the conflict escalates over control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
What happened
Yemen's Houthis attacked Aden International Airport with at least two ballistic missiles and several explosive-laden drones early Wednesday, according to the country's Transport Ministry. One missile landed near the runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land; authorities diverted the aircraft to Jeddah and evacuated the terminal. The attack came as fighting intensified across multiple fronts following a Saudi-backed government counteroffensive launched this week to recapture territory the Houthis seized in September.
The counteroffensive, backed by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes from approximately 100 fighter jets, targeted key areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical shipping chokepoint for global energy exports. Government forces claimed to have retaken the port city of Mocha and the Dhubab district, as well as Dhubab Airport. However, the claims remain contested—military sources acknowledge the fighting is intense but note that the Houthis dispute the territorial changes, and independent verification is limited.
The Houthis have controlled Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, but made dramatic territorial gains in early September, seizing the entire Red Sea coast including Mocha and nearby islands. That advance significantly strengthened their position over Bab el-Mandeb, a 18-mile-wide strait that carries roughly 10-12 percent of global seaborne trade. With the Strait of Hormuz already constrained by U.S.-Iran tensions, the Bab el-Mandeb has become a critical alternative for Saudi energy exports.
The escalation has produced severe humanitarian displacement. The UN's International Organization for Migration reported that more than 200,000 people have been displaced since fighting began in early September, with figures surging from 76,000 in mid-September. The organization described the crisis as alarming, with three in four families in parts of Yemen facing hunger.
Houthi officials have denied that the government made significant territorial gains, though both sides claim hundreds have been killed. The Yemeni government announced on Sunday that it intends to launch a broader offensive to retake all Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa. Fighting remains concentrated around the Bab el-Mandeb area and other strategic locations in western Yemen.
Chanakya's Move
This is a Saudi-led move to reverse a major strategic reversal. In early September, the Houthis executed a rapid 150 km advance down Yemen's Red Sea coast in roughly a week, seizing Mocha and positioning themselves over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—one of the two critical energy chokepoints after the U.S.-Iran conflict closed Hormuz. That move fundamentally altered the balance of power and threatened Saudi energy exports. The current counteroffensive, backed by ~100 Saudi fighter jets, is a direct effort to reclaim that territory before Houthi control calcifies. The Houthis' airport attack is their response: they are using their remaining air capability to target the government's supply routes and logistics. The core bet is asymmetric: Saudi backs the military counter with air power; the Houthis lack air defense but compensate with missiles and drones aimed at chokepoints like Aden airport. The key uncertainty is whether the government advance can hold contested terrain, particularly Dhubab and Mocha, against a Houthi militia that demonstrated rapid operational capacity in September. Analysts note the outcome remains unclear and the coalition's ground forces are not known to be particularly robust.