Photo via thehindu.com
Houthis strike Aden airport as Yemen war spirals
Two missiles landed near a civilian airliner at the government's main hub, part of a coordinated campaign hitting Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
What happened
Two ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels struck Aden International Airport in Yemen on Friday evening, landing approximately 500 meters from a Yemenia Airlines aircraft preparing to depart for Cairo with passengers aboard. The missiles struck 100 meters from the runway center, according to Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. No casualties were reported. The attack marked the second strike on the airport in less than two weeks and came one day after missiles targeted the presidential palace in the same port city, killing five people.
The Houthis claimed they targeted a Saudi military command headquarters and weapons depot at adjacent Badr Camp rather than civilian infrastructure. Yemen's government called the attack "a grave violation of international laws and norms" and said the proximity of the missiles to the departing aircraft could have "turned a civilian flight into a horrific humanitarian disaster."
The Aden strikes are part of an escalating cycle of attacks across Yemen and Saudi Arabia. On October 11, Houthi strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 in the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in over a decade. That attack prompted international condemnation and raised concerns about a wider regional war. The Saudi-led coalition responded by declaring it had destroyed multiple Houthi missile launchers in northern Yemen.
Simultaneously, Yemen's government forces claim major territorial advances. On Friday, military officials said they conducted 1,292 strikes against Houthi positions in Marib province in the past 24 hours under "Operation Dawn of Yemen," claiming to have killed or wounded over 430 Houthi fighters and destroyed more than 100 military vehicles. The offensive, backed by Saudi air support from 100 fighter jets, seeks to retake territory the Houthis seized in early September and restore government control over the capital Sanaa.
The Iran-backed Houthis launched their campaign in early September as part of a broader escalation that coincides with tensions between Iran and the United States. The cycle of strikes and counter-strikes shows no sign of abating as both sides inflict mounting casualties and target civilian and military infrastructure.
Chanakya's Move
The Houthis are executing a two-front strategy: strikes on Saudi infrastructure (particularly airports and oil facilities) to raise the political and economic cost of the conflict, paired with aggressive territorial moves in Yemen to shift facts on the ground. Riyadh's response has been conventional—air raids on Houthi positions and claims of launcher destruction—but the rapid replenishment of Houthi strike capability suggests either deep Iranian supply or effective decentralized manufacturing. Saudi Arabia faces a credibility test: sustained Houthi penetrations of its air defenses risk emboldening other adversaries and straining its alliance with the U.S., especially as the Trump administration weighs deeper involvement. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government's simultaneous push in Marib is an attempt to split Houthi focus, but it will only work if the coalition can sustain 100-jet operations while managing strikes on the kingdom. The real strategic contest is whether the Houthis can sustain attrition and keep striking high-value targets—forcing Saudi political collapse or exhaustion—or whether Saudi airpower and coalition partners can degrade Houthi capacity faster than it regenerates.