Government forces intensified operations across Yemen’s Taiz province over the past few hours, targeting Houthi movements and reinforcements under heavy air cover and recapturing positions the group had infiltrated as fighting entered a pivotal phase.
Successive Yemeni army statements reported 75 airstrikes on Houthi positions and movements in Taiz over 24 hours.
The strikes came in successive waves targeting concentrations of fighters, vehicles, military equipment, reinforcements, weapons depots, command-and-control centers and supply points, according to statements by armed forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nuzaili.
The airstrikes extended across a broad stretch of Taiz's front lines, rather than concentrating on a single sector.
Strikes also hit Sanaa, Saada and Hajjah, indicating a widening confrontation and an effort by government forces to disrupt the movement and supply routes the Houthis use in their operations.
The strikes targeted Humair, Bani Bakari, Sami, al-Aqroudh, Sixty Street, al-A'mour and al-Wazi'iyah in Taiz, as well as Midi and Bani Hassan in Hajjah. A second wave targeted al-Rad'ah, al-Aqroudh, Bani Bakari, al-Kadhah, Mount Nu'man, al-Ajram and al-Marzam in Taiz.
The largest wave, comprising 27 airstrikes, targeted a missile depot, command-and-control centers, forward supply and weapons distribution points, concentrations of fighters, vehicles and military equipment.
It hit positions on Sixty Street north of Taiz city; Bani Omar; Humair in Maqbanah; eastern al-Wazi'iyah; al-Ahkoum and al-Athawir in Hayfan; al-Kadhah; Mount Nu'man; al-Kuraifat; Aqabat Munif; al-Tashrifat; al-Aqroudh; Sami; and al-Shaqab in Sabir al-Mawadim.
In another wave, Yemen's armed forces announced 15 airstrikes in Taiz, targeting Ras Dariz, al-A'mour, Jashi Athawir, Ras Hami at al-Khazzan on the al-Ka'awish front, and al-Junaid village in Hayfan. The military said the strikes neutralized dozens of fighters and reinforcements and destroyed equipment and vehicles.
The military statements suggest the strikes went beyond limited air support for front-line troops, forming part of operations targeting the Houthis' movement, supply and command networks across multiple fronts.
Attacks repelled
The strikes coincided with fierce clashes involving government forces and the Popular Resistance on several Taiz fronts, particularly Bani Bakari in Jabal Habashi, Humair in Maqbanah and al-Aqroudh southeast of the province, as well as al-Kadhah, Mount Han and the northern and eastern fronts of Taiz city.
Military sources said government forces repelled Houthi attacks and forced the attackers to retreat. On the Sami front southeast of the province, government forces and the Popular Resistance also repelled a Houthi assault before reinforcing their positions, while the Houthis withdrew toward Dimnat Khadir.
Sources said about 20 Houthi fighters were captured on the Sami front, along with Houthi vehicles. In al-Aqroudh, they reported that government fire killed about 30 Houthi fighters and wounded about 50 others.
A separate military tally put Houthi losses at about 100 fighters killed, dozens wounded and others captured following the group's attacks on several fronts in the province. Military vehicles were also disabled and weapons depots destroyed, according to the tally.
Field assessments suggested the Houthi plan was to seize parts of rural Taiz and impose a siege on the city, with the group massing dozens of battalions for the operation.
Government forces and the Popular Resistance held their positions before some units began recapturing sites the Houthis had infiltrated in al-Shamayatayn, Jabal Habashi and Sami.
Beyond repelling the attacks, government forces, backed by the Popular Resistance and local residents, announced they had recaptured important areas in the Bani Omar subdistrict of al-Shamayatayn, south of Taiz.
Sources said the forces recaptured Dar al-Rahah and advanced toward Shi'b al-Darahim, while the Houthis suffered losses in personnel and equipment and several of their fighters were captured. Fighting continued at other positions.
Government forces say they have so far thwarted the plan to seize parts of rural Taiz and besiege the city. The fronts remain vulnerable to renewed attacks, particularly as Houthi military movements continue along roads linking different parts of the province.
Restrictions on Houthi movement routes
The developments coincided with continued airstrikes on routes used by the Houthis, extending the fighting beyond direct clashes over positions to attacks on reinforcements, vehicles and sources of supply.
Yemen's armed forces also announced broad precautionary measures to protect civilians, urging residents, drivers and civilian transport operators to avoid roads used by the Houthis to move fighters and military supplies until further notice.
The list included the Sanaa–Dhamar–Ibb–al-Qa'idah–al-Hawban–al-Qasr roundabout route and the al-Hawban–al-Dimnah–al-Rahidah–Hayfan–al-Qubaytah–al-Mafalis route.
It also included roads connecting Sharab, al-Rubai, al-Barh, al-Kadhah, al-Wazi'iyah, Mawza and Mokha, as well as roads through al-Aqroudh, Sami, al-Ayyar and Jabal Habashi.
The warnings indicated the widening scope of military movements. The armed forces stressed that the measures were temporary and precautionary and that protecting civilians and their property was a priority.
In a parallel development, air defenses announced they had intercepted and shot down Houthi suicide drones over Aden, Yemen's temporary capital. The army spokesman said the drones were downed before reaching their targets in civilian areas and neighborhoods.
Strikes were also announced against high-value targets in Sanaa and 11 high-value military targets in Saada, signaling an expansion of operations beyond the Taiz fronts into the Houthi heartland.
Presidential consultations
Alongside the developments on the battlefield, Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi held extensive consultations on the situation in Taiz.
He received briefings on the operations from council members Abdulrahman al-Muharrami and Mahmoud al-Subaihi, the defense minister, the chief of the General Staff, the commander of the Fourth Military Region, and military and security officials in the province.
The briefings covered troop readiness, efforts to secure roads and supply lines, responses to attempted infiltrations and breaches, and Houthi losses from the fighting and airstrikes.
Al-Alimi said government forces would continue operations according to established plans.
The Houthis had started the war and the armed forces would end it, he said, according to official media, with the aim of restoring state institutions, recovering the capital Sanaa and ending the coup.
He also urged residents of Houthi-controlled areas to resist mobilization campaigns and prevent their children from being drawn into attacks he described as doomed to fail.
He renewed the state's commitment to what he called the "Safe Return Initiative," saying its doors remained open to those who chose to side with the state and its institutions.
