31 Dec

At least 15 people have been killed in large explosions that hit an airport in southern Yemen shortly after a plane carrying newly sworn-in cabinet ministers landed.

A series of blasts rocked the international airport in the city of Aden on Wednesday, moments after the cabinet members arrived from Saudi Arabia.

Many government officials were at the airport at the time of the blasts. A government spokesperson told NHK that at least 15 people were dead and many others wounded.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Twitter that three of their colleagues had been killed.

Reuters news agency reported that mortar shells had hit the airport, but details were not available.

Yemen has been plagued by a civil war between the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Iran-backed Houthis for more than five years.

The government formed a new cabinet this month after reaching consensus with a major separatist group that has cooperated with President Hadi in the fight against the Houthis.

The Yemeni government is stepping up vigilance as it sees the explosions as an attack targeting its ministers.

NHK