UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 31, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A deadly attack
on December 30, 2020 on Aden airport in Yemen was carried out with missiles
similar to those possessed by Huthi rebels and fired from locations under
their control, according to a report submitted to the UN Security Council.
The attack killed about 20 people, including the deputy minister of public
works, and injured more than 100 people.
“Three explosions occurred… minutes after a plane carrying Prime
Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, members of his ‘unity’ cabinet and other
senior government officials had landed,” the report said.
“The airport was hit by three precision-guided, short-distance, surface-
to-surface ballistic missiles carrying fragmentation warheads, likely an
extended-range version of the Badr-1P missile, which has been part of the
Huthi arsenal since 2018.”
The missiles were an attempt to hit the plane carrying government
officials, as well as the VIP lounge, where a press conference had been
planned.
They were fired from “facilities were under the control of the Huthi
forces at the time of the attacks,” said a summary of the confidential
investigative report obtained on Tuesday by AFP.
A last-minute decision to park the plane further away from the terminal
building, as well as a delay in passengers disembarking, prevented further
casualties, it said.
The southern port city of Aden is Yemen’s de facto capital, where the
internationally recognised government is based after being routed from Sanaa
in the north by Huthi rebels.