Unidentified assailants fired missiles at the Qasr hotel in Aden used by Yemeni government officials and at a compound housing troops of the government’s Gulf Arab allies on Tuesday (October 6), residents said.
Residents said they had unconfirmed reports that about 10 people were killed or wounded. Yemeni Vice President and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and other officials were unhurt, officials said. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is believed to be in Saudi Arabia.
Reuters video footage showed large plumes of black smoke rising from the hotel. Troops also quickly cordoned off the area and set-up checkpoints. Initial reports said the missiles were rocket-propelled grenades.
The missiles apparently were fired at the gate of the hotel, residents said. A second missile landed nearby and a third hit a compound in Aden’s Buraiqah district where Gulf Arab troops are housed, residents said.
The United Arab Emirates condemned the attack and suggested it was carried out by Houthi rebels and their main local ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Qasr hotel has been the base of Hadi’s government since its gradual return from exile in Riyadh over recent weeks, after Houthi fighters were expelled in July.
The hotel has been guarded by troops from the United Arab Emirates, one of the members of a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting since March to end Houthi control of Yemen and restore Hadi to power in the capital, Sanaa. (Reuters)
