Houthi militants attempted a drone strike targeting a military parade by Saudi-led coalition forces in the port city of Aden, Reuters has reported, citing Houthi media outlet Al Masirah TV on Monday morning.
Saudi Arabia and its allies did not comment on the alleged attack, but the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV channel reported, citing its own sources, that air defences shot down a drone west of the city.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi declared Aden to be Yemen's capital city in March 2015 after fleeing from the traditional capital of Sana'a after Houthi militia and their supporters took control of the city following an uprising. The Saudi military and its allies established control over the city in July 2015 after intervening in Yemen at Hadi's request.
The Houthis have launched regular attacks against Saudi and broader coalition forces in Yemen and Saudi Arabia itself during their ongoing campaign in the southern Arabian country. On 26 May, Saudi air defences reported intercepting an explosive-laden drone attempting to attack military aircraft hangers at the Jizan Airport in southern Saudi Arabia. The same week, a drone reportedly targeted a Patriot missile battery in Najran airport, also in southern Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Saudi air defences reported intercepting two Houthi missiles in Mecca Province.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between government forces loyal to President Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. Saudi Arabia and a coalition of mostly Gulf states launched their operation to try to defeat the Houthis and restore Hadi to power in March 2015.
