Iran blamed as Houthi attack kills dozens in Yemen’s Aden

Iran-backed Houthi militia launched missile and drone attacks on a military parade in Aden, the seat of internationally-recognised government, killing 36 people, according to the Interior Ministry. An explosion hit a military camp belonging to the Yemeni Security Belt forces, a witness said.

Soldiers screamed and ran to lift the wounded and place them on trucks. Red berets lay on the ground in pools of blood as several soldiers cried near the body of a commander who was a leading figure among southern separatists. Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and Saudi Arabia’s envoy to Yemen, in separate tweets, accused Iran of being behind both the parade attack and a separate blast at a police station, also in the southern port city on Thursday, involving an explosives-laden car.

Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Bin Saeed Al Jaber said the two attacks indicate that Iran “shares common goals with fellow terrorists such as Daesh (the so-called IS) and Al Qaeda”. The Houthis’ official channel Al Masirah TV said the group had launched a medium-range ballistic missile and an armed drone at the parade. The commander killed at the parade was Brigadier General Muneer Al-Yafee, the interior ministry said. Yafee had stepped off the stage to greet a guest when the explosion took place.