The Houthis suffered casualties and equipment losses over the past 24 hours as fighting intensified across Yemen’s western Taiz province and areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The group is trying to consolidate newly seized positions and secure its rear lines in mountain ranges overlooking the western coast and the international shipping lane.
The heaviest clashes were reported in the Kahboub mountains and the districts of Al-Mudaraba and Al-Wazi’iyah, according to local and military sources.
Government forces and local tribesmen are seeking to secure strategic heights, while the Houthis have sent reinforcements and pushed toward elevated positions that would help protect their recent gains.
Military sources said government forces, backed by local fighters, thwarted a Houthi infiltration attempt in the Al-Aghbara sector of Al-Mudaraba district in Lahj province, inflicting casualties on the attackers.
On the Kahboub front near Bab al-Mandab, the Southern Giants Brigades struck Houthi concentrations and vehicles with air, drone, artillery and rocket attacks.
Field sources said a senior Houthi commander with the rank of major general was killed along with six of his escorts.
They identified him as Firaq Mohsen al-Assar, known as Abu Saqr al-Qafr, from Al-Qafr district in Ibb province. He had held several military posts, including commander of the First Commando Brigade, the sources said.
Battle for the heights
Government forces and the Houthis are fighting for a chain of heights in Al-Wazi’iyah district, west of Taiz, stretching eastward from the Kahboub mountains to Jardad.
Government forces are seeking to secure positions overlooking the western coast and Bab al-Mandab and drive Houthi fighters from the high ground.
The mountains are strategically important because they overlook areas near the strait and the plain extending toward Ras al-Ara.
The Houthis are trying to seize the heights to protect areas under their control and to use them as a launch point for any new southward advance, the sources said.
On the Al-Kadha front west of Taiz, government forces repelled a Houthi attack and forced the assailants to retreat after suffering casualties.
The army also recaptured positions on Jabal al-Shuhada, overlooking Wadi al-Ghail in Al-Wazi’iyah, after driving out Houthi fighters.
Government aircraft struck Houthi positions around Jawlat al-Qasr, east of Taiz city.
The fighting in western Taiz is not only about the current front lines. It is also a battle for high ground that would give the side holding it greater ability to defend its positions and move between the coast and inland areas.
Strikes continue in Marib
Government forces also continued ground and air operations against the Houthis in Marib province.
Warplanes struck Houthi concentrations and vehicles at the Umm Rish camp and Aqabat Mala’a in the south of the province.
Government forces said they thwarted three Houthi infiltration attempts on the Marib fronts as the two sides exchanged artillery fire.
On Friday, government forces said they had destroyed nine Houthi military vehicles on the western Marib fronts, killing those aboard.
Drones operated by the Seventh Military Region also targeted Houthi concentrations on the northern fronts, while other strikes hit the group’s vehicles in the Third Military Region’s area of operations.
Other fronts remained relatively calm compared with the fighting in western Taiz and Marib, although forces remained on high alert along the lines of contact.
The latest operations show government forces concentrating on preventing the Houthis from tightening their grip on heights overlooking Bab al-Mandab and the western coast.
At the same time, they are targeting Houthi reinforcements and vehicles in an effort to disrupt the group’s attempts to consolidate its new positions and advance toward the mountains overlooking the strait.
