The Iran-backed Houthi group escalated its attacks in Yemen, targeting with missiles and drones the al-Mokha port in Taiz on the west coast.
Government military media said four soldiers and three civilians were killed in the attack and 15 people wounded. Eleven Houthi drones were shot down.
The Houthis had launched their escalation days ago with attacks on government forces in the Marib, Hadramawt, Shabwa and Dhale regions.
Yemeni sources said the Houthis launched Sunday’s attack from areas under their control that overlook Tihama and the west coast.
The government's military media said troops were already on alert for an attack, which helped limit losses.
Local sources said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles from the Houban region in eastern Taiz towards Mokha. A booby-trapped vessel was also used in an attempt to attack the port.
Other sources said drone attacks hit civilian infrastructure inside the port.
Mokha is strategic for its location on the west coast and proximity to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important waterways. An attack against it is not only a threat against Yemen, but one against a critical international waterway.
Sources from Mokha said the drone attacks struck port employee housing and the housing of the Saudi hospital employees in the city. Hodeidah governor also survived a Houthi attack on his residence in Khokha in southern Hodeidah.
Other sources said the Houthis also attacked a solar panel field in Mokha and that they had also cut off the internet and other forms of communication in Hodeidah as they carried out their attacks.
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi held talks on Sunday with US Charge d’Affaires Neil Hop. He briefed him on the Mokha attack, saying the Houthis were carrying out a “systematic war” against Yemen’s vital economic facilities.
He noted that the Houthis are complaining about a siege against them, while still being able to carry out attacks on ports, airports and economic facilities, as well as threaten commercial vessels and food and energy supplies.
He said the Houthis targeted Mokha given its location close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, saying Iran was behind the escalation.
Al-Alimi called on the US and international community to move on from their policy of containing the Houthi threat to addressing its backers. He also urged greater support for the Yemeni government’s capabilities to help it protect its territories, waters and vital facilities.
He stressed that the latest developments confirm that the problem does not lie in various separate crises, but one source that is using outlawed armed groups to achieve foreign goals.
Agreements that don’t lead to a sustainable solution to the threat of Iran-backed groups will only temporarily resolve the problem, he warned.
