Yemen's Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haydan accused Thursday Houthis, and Iranian and Lebanese experts of standing behind the December 30 terror attack at Aden Airport.
“Preliminary results from investigations into the attack found that Houthis, along with Iranian and Lebanese experts, carried out the attack by firing three medium-range surface-to-surface missiles from a distance of more than 100 kilometers,” Haydan said during a press conference.
The minister heads an investigation committee formed by Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi following the attack that targeted the airport.
The committee had collected information from different sources and discovered that the ballistic missiles were launched from a site in a Houthi-controlled area more than 100 km away from the airport, according to Haydan.
He explained that the missiles have serial numbers bearing resemblance to missiles fired by the Houthi militias on military and civilian targets in Marib and Saudi Arabia.
The minister said the missiles were directed by a GPS-guided navigation system, which is owned by the Houthis through Lebanese and Iranian experts.
“There’s conclusive evidence that the aim of the attack was to kill all government staff and civilians present at the airport,” Haydan said.
Explosions rocked the airport just minutes after ministers from the newly formed Yemeni government disembarked from an aircraft in Aden.
The government earlier said the missiles were launched from areas controlled by the militias.
Yemen's government spokesman Rajeh Badi said that investigation results clearly revealed that Houthis stood behind the attack.
“From the beginning, we could clearly see Houthi fingerprints in this terrorist attack. They wanted to attack the government and therefore, the future of Yemen and its chances for peace,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He called on the international community to act and follow in the footsteps of the United States by classifying the group a terrorist entity.