Officials from Yemen’s ruling rebel force have blamed the deadly attack that struck Aden International Airport on Wednesday on Saudi Arabia.
The newly appointed cabinet and its entourage had just begun to depart the Yemenia Airbus A320 when violent explosions began to rock the crowded tarmac. Sounds of heavy shelling and sporadic gunfire could be heard, and around two dozen people were killed—none of whom appeared to be on the plane itself—and about twice as many were wounded.
The Yemeni government blamed the Ansar Allah movement, a Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel group that took the capital six years ago, drawing a Saudi-led intervention that has plunged the country into all-out civil war.
In a tweet on the attack, Yemini information Muammar al-Eryani said
“We assure our ppl that all cabinet members are safe, & cowardly terrorist attack by Iran-backed Houthi militia on Aden airport will not deter us from our duty & our life isn’t more valuable than other Yemenis.
“May Allah have mercy on souls of martyrs, & wish fast recovery 4 injured.”
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was on the plane, tweeted that he had survived the attack and was safe.
