Houthi missiles struck the al-Maashiq presidential palace in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 16, Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. The palace is the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said five ballistic missiles hit the palace, the BBC reported, and Al Jazeera reported that he said the Houthis targeted it with five missiles.

Prime Minister Shaya Zindani and other ministers were unhurt, al-Eryani said, according to the BBC. Two of the prime minister's bodyguards were killed, the government said, according to Al Jazeera. Buhaibeh said the casualties included "those working to guard the site and civilian employees," the BBC reported.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck "the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden," the BBC reported. Zindani called the attack "cowardly" and said it would not weaken his forces' resolve, according to the BBC. Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry, reporting from the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, said attacks on the government's headquarters were the "first of their kind" by the Houthis.

The strike came as fighting escalates between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs the government, the BBC reported. The coalition says Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport has come under at least 20 Houthi attacks in 11 days, Al Jazeera reported. A Houthi missile strike on the Riyadh airport on Oct. 10 killed 13 people, the BBC reported. At least 1,282 people have been killed in fighting in Yemen since Aug. 6, according to the government's health ministry, the BBC reported.

What we know: Houthi missiles hit Aden's presidential palace Thursday, killing five people and wounding 16, and senior government officials were unhurt.
What we don't: How the Saudi-led coalition will respond to the first Houthi attack on the palace.