Yemen clashes rage in Taiz as Saudi jets strike Saada, Hudaydah

Yemeni government forces downed a Houthi drone and repelled infiltration attempts near Taiz on Thursday, as fighting escalated across multiple fronts and Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck targets in Saada and Hudaydah provinces, according to military officials.

Taiz clashes

Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Majid al-Nuzaili said Thursday that army units targeted Houthi positions in Mokha and Taiz provinces without providing specific casualty figures, according to state-run Saba news agency. Al-Nuzaili stated that government troops secured the Wadi Al-Maqatra area on the Haifan front and reopened the vital Hayjat Al-Abd road linking Aden, Lahj and Taiz after breaking Houthi infiltration attempts. "Our forces confronted the attacking elements and engaged them in clashes that thwarted the infiltration attempts, forced them to retreat and inflicted losses in personnel and equipment," he said.

Air defenses also intercepted a Houthi "suicide drone" over Jabal Habashi district west of Taiz, while local sources reported intense clashes along the mountainous Haifan front aimed at preventing the Houthis from disrupting supply routes toward the city. The developments reflect Houthi efforts to secure deeper positions along the western coast while pressuring Taiz from multiple directions as government forces deploy reinforcements along front lines.

Airstrikes in Saada, Hudaydah

Saudi-led coalition aircraft launched five strikes Thursday on Kamaran Island in western Hudaydah province, according to Houthi-run Saba news agency. The agency reported four additional strikes on the Qatabir and Marran districts in northern Saada province, citing an unnamed local source who said one strike targeted the telecommunications network in Qatabir district center.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Thursday the group conducted a "preemptive military operation" targeting military sites in Saudi Arabia's Jazan region with ballistic missiles and drones. "The attacks targeted operations, command and control rooms, weapons depots and other sites in Al-Tuwal in Jazan, as well as positions and missile launch platforms at Al-Daghareer camp and other military camps in the area," he claimed, adding that the strikes killed and injured "hundreds of Yemeni military reinforcements" and "dozens of Saudi personnel and officers."

The Houthi statement came shortly after coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the coalition intercepted and destroyed six ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis, thwarting an attempt to target the western Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu. "Escalation and violations by the terrorist Houthi militia will be dealt with firmly," al-Maliki said in posts on social media platform X, as Saudi Civil Defense announced that threat alerts had ended in Mecca, Taif, Tabuk, Yanbu and Jeddah.

Humanitarian situation

The military escalation has significantly altered Yemen's territorial control map since fighting resumed in July, with the Houthis expanding their grip along the western coast in September to capture the city of Mokha, Mayyun Island and Dhubab near Bab el-Mandeb. The government-run Executive Unit for Internally Displaced Persons Camps said Tuesday that registered displaced people across 10 provinces had risen above 169,000, representing 25,116 families, according to an updated report covering developments through Sept. 21.