At least 26 people died and more than 60 were wounded during an attack at the airport of Yemen's city of Aden, The Guardian and other news organizations reported Thursday.
The attack was aimed at a plane transporting members of the country's new government. Three explosions and gunfire were heard moments after the aircraft arrived Wednesday from neighboring Saudi Arabia, reports say.
All members of the cabinet are safe, Yemen Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek said. Initial reports said the explosions were missiles or mortars.
Civilians, government officials and journalists are believed to have been killed. The number of deaths is expected to increase, authorities say.
Saudi Arabia accused Iran-supported Houthi insurgents of launching the attack, the government-run Saudi Press Agency reports. The rebels denied responsibility.
"This treacherous, cowardly and terrorist attack places the government at the heart of its responsibilities - which is the task of ending the coup, restoring the state, spreading stability and the recovery of our country," Al Jazeera quoted the prime minister as saying.
Images from the attack on social media showed rubble, blood and shattered glass near the airport building and at least two bodies on the ground.
Yemen has been in conflict since 2015 when a Saudi-led alliance of Arab nations carried out a military campaign against the Houthis and to restore President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
"The attempt to assassinate the Yemeni cabinet is an attempt to thwart the Riyadh Agreement," Col. Turki Al-Malki was quoted as saying in a statement carried on SPA.
Qatar University Gulf Studies Center chief Mahjoob Zweiri said the attack showed the "serious security vacuum" that Yemen is struggling with.
