The Iran-backed Houthi group stepped up military operations on several fronts west of Yemen’s Taiz governorate and along the Red Sea coast on Thursday.
Houthis fired more than 12 ballistic missiles at rural areas in Taiz and Hodeidah governorates as fierce clashes erupted with government forces and the National Resistance in Maqbanah, al-Kadha, al-Tuwair and Ghabari.
Military sources said the fighting began in the early hours of Thursday when the Houthis launched a broad assault on government and National Resistance positions across several sectors. The attack developed into direct clashes and artillery exchanges that lasted for hours.
The group fired hundreds of artillery and mortar rounds during the assault and deployed drones in combat operations, the sources said. The fighting spread to hills overlooking the al-Aqma area in Mawza district, where brigades affiliated with the National Resistance are stationed.
The Houthis seized several positions during the opening hours of the attack before government forces, fighters from Taiz and the National Resistance launched a counterattack and recaptured a number of them, according to military sources.
The sources said the ballistic missiles had no effect on government forces’ battlefield operations. Most of the Houthi missile strikes targeted areas around vital facilities and civilian and military supply routes, causing panic among residents.
Government forces suffered deaths and injuries, while the Houthis also sustained casualties, the sources said, without providing figures for either side. Four Houthi fighters were reportedly captured.
Reports from the Joint Operations Room said air-defense systems and military formations on the Red Sea coast were “maintaining a high level of vigilance in confronting these repeated missile threats, which have become the group’s most prominent means of trying to offset its successive battlefield losses.”
The reports said the attacks were also intended to send a message linked to regional developments around the Red Sea shipping corridor and strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The missile attacks coincided with an attempted infiltration and ground assault by Houthi fighters against government positions in al-Kadha, west of Taiz.
Three drones downed
Government forces said they shot down three Houthi drones flying over subdistricts in Jabal Habashi district as fighting continued on fronts west of Taiz.
Military sources said the drones were intercepted as the group continued using unmanned aircraft to attack government and National Resistance positions. Clashes persisted in several sectors as forces deployed reinforcements to combat positions.
The ground escalation coincided with a new wave of Houthi missile strikes on the Red Sea coast. The group fired more than 12 ballistic missiles toward several areas east and north of the city of Mokha, as well as areas in Hodeidah’s Khokha district.
Local sources said the missiles were launched from Houthi-held positions in Ibb governorate and from al-Hawban and Sharab, east and north of Taiz. One missile caused a fire on the northern outskirts of Mokha.
The National Resistance’s military media office said the Houthis fired eight ballistic missiles toward rural areas around Mokha, while a ninth landed south of Khokha district. Local sources said three more missiles were launched shortly afterward.
Red Sea coast targeted
The missile strikes coincided with fighting on the Maqbanah and al-Kadha fronts west of Taiz, while air defenses operated by the “Taiz Military Axis” responded to drones launched by the group during the assault.
The escalation came hours after the Houthis targeted residential areas, the vicinity of camps for displaced people and front-line positions in Taiz, where fighting has intensified steadily since August.
Government forces and the National Resistance have continued to repel Houthi attacks across western Taiz and the Red Sea coast as the group persists in using ballistic missiles, drones and artillery.
The simultaneous broad ground assault and missile strikes point to an expansion of the Houthi escalation in the region, which has seen repeated attacks on military positions and areas near residential communities and civilian facilities.
Government forces in Marib and al-Dhale governorates carried out strikes on Wednesday targeting Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles, and released footage of the operations.
