Arabic version: القوات اليمنية تزعم «تحييد» 1,860 مقاتلاً حوثياً
According to Al Jazeera, Yemeni government forces said they had “neutralised” 1,860 Houthi fighters since beginning a large-scale counter-offensive aimed at retaking territory held by the rebel group. The claim was made by the spokesperson for the internationally recognised government’s army in a social media post early on Thursday local time.
The spokesperson said government forces had conducted 2,103 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi military positions across several fronts under the continuing “Dawn of Yemen” operation. Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced the operation on Sunday, saying it sought to retake all Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa, which the Iran-backed group has controlled since 2014.
Recent fighting has centred on areas around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a shipping route that has become more important for energy exports since the conflict between the United States and Iran restricted trade through the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, forces aligned with the Yemeni government launched an operation to seize strategic territory near the strait and around Mocha, a city the Houthis captured in September.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Wednesday it had destroyed 82 Houthi military targets in Saada, Hodeidah, al-Jawf and Marib. The coalition spokesperson said the targets included ballistic missile sites, including 11 mountain-based ballistic missile storage sites in Saada, as well as command and control centres, communications systems, and missile and weapons storage facilities.
The coalition said the operation followed Houthi attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said the attacks killed three people: one person was killed and eight wounded at King Khalid International Airport, while two people were killed and 28 wounded in an attack on facilities at Abha airport.
