Houthi missile and drone attacks kill dozens of Yemeni troops
Saudi Arabia warns of wider strikes as Red Sea and land fronts merge, civilian sites become the implied target set
Images
Yemen is being increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA
theguardian.com
Al menos 35 militares murieron en un ataque de los rebeldes hutíes contra fuerzas del gobierno de Yemen. (REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
infobae.com
Los hutíes lanzaron al menos nueve misiles balísticos y varios drones contra bases militares en el este de Yemen. (REUTERS/ARCHIVO)
infobae.com
La ofensiva de los hutíes figura entre los ataques más letales contra las fuerzas gubernamentales desde la tregua de la ONU de abril de 2022. (REUTERS/ARCHIVO)
infobae.com
La escalada en Yemen coincide con nuevos ataques hutíes contra objetivos marítimos vinculados a Arabia Saudí en el mar Rojo. (REUTERS/ARCHIVO)
infobae.com
At least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in Houthi attacks on military camps on Thursday, according to Yemeni government sources cited by The Guardian, with some reports putting the toll higher. The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone strikes in Marib and Hadramout provinces, as Saudi Arabia warned of further attacks and accused the group of indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas in southern Najran.
The fighting in Yemen is being pulled back into the region’s wider war economy: pressure on shipping and energy flows is now paired with pressure on land forces guarding oil routes. The Guardian describes Saudi concerns about coordinated attacks from both the north and south—by Iraqi militias and the Houthis—under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with intelligence warnings that civilian and economic sites such as energy infrastructure, ports and airports could be targeted. That framing matters because the Houthis have already declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and have mounted attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities over the past month, according to the same report. A land campaign to loosen the Houthis’ grip would therefore be less about capturing territory than about lowering the insurance premium on export routes.
Infobae, citing AFP, reports at least 38 military personnel killed and 29 injured in ballistic missile and drone attacks, including an account of a projectile hitting during morning troop formation at a Marib camp. The report calls it among the deadliest Houthi attacks on government forces since the UN-brokered truce that began in 2022 froze many front lines without producing a settlement. The Houthis control Sana’a and much of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, while government forces hold large areas in the south and east, leaving long supply lines and exposed bases as attractive targets for missiles and drones.
In that environment, coalitions and counteroffensives are announced as much to reassure markets as to move troops. On Friday, Saudi officials said 11 civilians were injured in shelling in Najran, including a four-year-old child, and promised “all necessary measures” to protect civilians. The next test will not be a communiqué from Riyadh but whether ports and pipelines can operate without another week of emergency readiness orders.