International

Yemen PM escapes deadly hotel attack

Published

9 years ago

October 6, 2015

A rocket-propelled grenade hit a hotel in the Yemeni city of Aden that houses members of deposed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi’s government, officials said.

At least a dozen people were killed in the attack early Tuesday, including soldiers from the United Arab Emirates, officials in Yemen said.

So far, no Yemeni government officials are confirmed to have been among the dead, security sources in Aden told CNN.

Prime Minister Khaled Bahah is among the officials who reside at the Al Qasr Hotel in the southern port city. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was in the building at the time of the attack.

A vicious, protracted conflict has plunged the impoverished Middle Eastern nation into chaos this year.

A Saudi-led coalition, which backs the Hadi government, has been carrying out wave after wave of airstrikes in an effort to dislodge the Houthi rebels who took control of the capital, Sanaa, earlier this year.

The Shiite Muslim Houthis are aligned with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s bitter regional rival.

It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the attack on the Aden hotel Tuesday.

At least 4,000 civilians have been killed during the war, according to the Houthi-controlled Health Ministry.

Hadi, Bahah and other members of the government returned from exile in Saudi Arabia last month. They are based in Aden, where forces loyal to them hold sway.

Fighting between the Houthis and forces loyal to Hadi has raged across the country, enabling terrorist groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS to exploit the security vacuum.

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