AL-MUKALLA: Two security personnel were killed on Thursday in a Houthi missile strike that targeted Aden’s presidential palace, seat of the country’s internationally recognized government.

The deceased were members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zandani’s security detail.

The Houthis also targeted the central city of Marib, the government said, as pro-government forces pushed Houthi fighters from strategic positions in Taiz.

The government said the attack on Aden involved several ballistic missiles, and that the prime minister and cabinet ministers were unharmed.

Images posted on social media showed thick smoke billowing from the presidential palace, while residents reported hearing explosions around the city. It was the second Houthi attack on Aden since Oct. 5, when the Yemeni government announced a nationwide military operation to regain areas under the militia’s control.

On Oct. 7, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Aden airport, forcing the Yemeni government to divert incoming flights and evacuate aircraft parked on the tarmac.

There was no immediate information about casualties or property damage after Thursday’s Houthi strikes on Marib.

“The terrorist Houthi militias, backed by the Iranian regime, are intensifying their targeting of residential neighborhoods in the city of Marib with a number of ballistic missiles,” the Yemeni Information Ministry said in a post on X.

The attacks on Aden and Marib came as Yemeni government forces engaged in heavy clashes with the Houthis at several locations on the outskirts of Taiz, local military sources and media reported.

The fiercest fighting was reported around Mount Han, west of the city, where a group of Houthi fighters on Wednesday evening attempted to seize strategic positions, triggering a fierce counterattack by Yemeni government forces.

A government source told Arab News that fighting continued from Wednesday evening into the following morning, with government forces eventually repelling Houthi forces from the mountain.

Yemeni government officials and army commanders fighting the Houthis said the group had suffered heavy losses during the battles around Taiz, and had become embroiled in a war of attrition despite making territorial gains elsewhere in the province.

“The Houthis have suffered heavy losses, to the extent that those captured over the past two days include people they had recently recruited off the streets, as well as military personnel who had previously served in purely administrative rather than combat roles,” a Yemeni government official speaking on condition of anonymity told Arab News.

The Houthis have imposed a complete siege on Taiz, preventing essential goods and life-saving medicines from reaching hundreds of thousands of residents.

The siege has sparked outrage and condemnation from local human rights groups and Western diplomats, who have called on the Houthis to refrain from using hunger and thirst as weapons of war.

The EU’s mission to Yemen on Wednesday evening said it was following with alarm reports about the impact of the Houthi siege on Taiz residents.

“The EU is following with alarm the situation in Taiz. The EU calls on Houthi forces to lift their siege of the city and allow the entry of food, water, medicines and fuel. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and partners allowed to deliver essential aid,” it said on X.

The bloc’s ambassador to Yemen, Patrick Simonnet, also spoke by phone with Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah Al-Zouba and the governor of Taiz to condemn the Houthi siege and express support for the Yemeni government.