Yemeni PM Accuses Houthis, Iran of Deadly Aden Airport Blast

A security personnel member reacts during an attack on Aden airport moments after a plane landed carrying a newly formed cabinet, in Aden, Yemen December 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A security personnel member reacts during an attack on Aden airport moments after a plane landed carrying a newly formed cabinet, in Aden, Yemen December 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Yemeni PM Accuses Houthis, Iran of Deadly Aden Airport Blast

A security personnel member reacts during an attack on Aden airport moments after a plane landed carrying a newly formed cabinet, in Aden, Yemen December 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A security personnel member reacts during an attack on Aden airport moments after a plane landed carrying a newly formed cabinet, in Aden, Yemen December 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Yemen’s prime minister renewed accusations on Thursday that the Houthi militias and Iran were responsible for the deadly explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden the previous day that killed at least 25 people and wounded 110.

The explosion took place as Cabinet members were disembarking from a plane that had landed in Aden just minutes earlier on Wednesday. AP footage from the scene showed many ministers rushing back inside the plane or running down the stairs, seeking shelter. None of the Cabinet members were hurt.

Hours after the blast, the country's legitimate government said the Iran-backed Houthis had fired four ballistic missiles at the airport.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that Houthi militias stand behind this crime,” Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed said as the newly reshuffled Cabinet convened for the first time in Aden.

“Intelligence also indicates that some Iranian experts were prepping for such an operation over the last few months,” Saeed said Thursday.

Officials later on Wednesday reported a second explosion, close to a palace in the city where the Cabinet members were taken to following the airport attack. The Saudi-led coalition later shot down a bomb-laden drone that attempted to target the palace, according to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel.

The newly formed Cabinet was set to meet for the first time since its formation in line with the Riyadh Agreement.

“We were supposed to begin by discussing the government program but this is an extraordinary meeting due to yesterday's cowardly and treacherous attack,” Saeed said, and asked his ministers to stand up silently for a moment to mourn the victims of the explosion.

Saeed also urged Western powers not to remain content with just condemning the attack but also to hold the perpetrators accountable.

“The international community is still debating whether to designate Houthis as a terrorist group," he said. “However, things are clear for us in Yemen. The actions of these militias prove they are a terrorist group.”



Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
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Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.

In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them, Reuters reported.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades.

Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon.

Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce.

Meanwhile, US envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.