18 killed in RPG attacks on Aden hotel

At least 18 people have been killed in rocket-propelled grenade attacks on a hotel in the Yemeni city of Aden, reports say.

At least one rocket was fired at the gate of the Qasr Hotel, which is located in Aden’s western suburbs.

There are conflicting reports about the nationalities of the fatalities, with some reports saying that those killed were soldiers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) guarding the hotel. Other reports say there were only two Emirati soldiers among the dead, and the others were Yemenis.

Former officials said to be in hotel

A number of officials from the former Yemeni regime, including fugitive former Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, were allegedly using the hotel when the attacks occurred.

According to some reports, the former Yemeni officials at the hotel, including Bahah, were evacuated unharmed by helicopter following the attacks.

An unspecified number of individuals have also been wounded in the attacks.

Witnesses said the hotel is on fire and that there are ambulances at the scene.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported that three Emirati soldiers and one Saudi trooper were among those killed in the RPG attack on the hotel. 

A report by al-Yemen al-Youm television network, meanwhile, has said that 50 people were separately killed in a car bomb that targeted a structure housing Saudi and Emirati troops in Aden’s Buraiqah district.

In a statement posted online, the Daesh Takfiri group claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.

Yemeni forces advance 

Meanwhile, the Yemeni army and Popular Committees have continued their advance in Aden as the Saudi military continues its aggression against the Arab nation.

Latest reports coming out of Yemen say fierce clashes have erupted between the Yemeni forces and militiamen loyal to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in the al-Mansoura district of Aden Province.

The Yemeni army reportedly advanced into the districts of Ra’s al-Arah on Tuesday.

Yemen has been under military strikes on a daily basis since Saudi forces launched their military aggression against their southern neighbor on March 26, in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.

About 6,400 people have reportedly lost their lives in the Saudi airstrikes, and a total of nearly 14,000 people have been injured since March. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 505 children are among the fatalities.

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