Blasts Strike Yemeni Hotel Used by Prime Minister as Government Headquarters

A series of blasts has seriously damaged a hotel in the Yemeni city of Aden that was being used as the war-torn nation’s seat of government, al-Jazeera reported.

Officials with Yemen’s government said that Tuesday morning’s missile attack on al-Qasr Hotel did not harm Khaled Bahah, who is both the country’s Prime Minister and its Vice President, but claimed an unspecified number of casualties. It is unclear whether any government officials were killed.

Authorities have not identified the perpetrators of the attack on the hotel, which has been an operations base for the government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi since he returned to the country in late September following a six-month exile in Saudi Arabia. (Bahah also returned from exile last month.)

Aden, a historic port city on Yemen’s southern coast, was declared the country’s provisional capital in July when an Arab military coalition successfully reclaimed the city from Shi‘ite Houthi forces. Clashes between those loyal to the government and those who follow the Iran-backed Houthi insurgency have escalated in recent months.