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Explosions rock Yemen airport as new government members land

Initial reports say five killed, 20 wounded in several explosions after plane carrying new government landed at Aden airport.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Several explosions rocked the airport in Yemen’s capital city Aden Wednesday as officials of the newly formed government were exiting their plane while crowds of people watched.

Initial reports indicate that at least five people were killed and 20 people were wounded, although no members of the new government appear to have been injured.

“We assure the people of our great nation that all members of the government are fine, and we confirm that the cowardly terrorist attack carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi militia against Aden airport will not deter us from carrying out our patriotic duty and that our blood and soul will not be more precious than the blood of Yemenis,” tweeted Moammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s Minister of Information. “We have mercy on the souls of the martyrs, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery”

A television news crew covering the arrival of the plane captured the incident and the video was quickly circulated on social media. The video shows people walking down the stairs from the plane parked on the tarmac at Aden Airport where a crowd of what appeared to be over 100 people were waiting to greet them.

A sudden explosion occurs and people crouch in reaction before running for safety in all directions. As the camera turns to film the source of the blast a cloud of black smoke is seen as the crowd flees.

Unconfirmed reports say that Houthi rebels fired several missiles at the airport.

Photos posted on Twitter show several bodies lying on the street in front of the airport terminal.

Al Arabiya reported that the majority of the wounded are media crews.

The Yemini cabinet ministers, headed by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was reported safe, were returning to Aden after being sworn in last week as part of a reshuffle following a deal with rival southern separatists, AP reported.

For the past six years Yemen has been wracked by a civil war that started when Iran-backed Houthi rebels tried to overthrow the government led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who the international community still recognizes as the leader of Yemen.

The government has been working from self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a coalition of Arab forces to try and defeat the Houthis.

The Houthis have staged several successful drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, and maintain a fiercely anti-Israel policy matching that of their Iranian sponsors.