Government-aligned forces say drone strikes kill Houthis in Shabwa

Yemen's government-aligned Shabwa Defense Forces said Tuesday that drone units carried out strikes against Houthi positions across several fronts in the southeastern province of Shabwa, killing several fighters and destroying military vehicles in what they described as a retaliatory operation.

Operation details

The Shabwa Defense Forces issued a statement through their media center saying they "carried out a qualitative military operation targeting Houthi positions on the Harib, Ain, Bayhan and Upper Marib fronts." The drone units "conducted strikes that hit targets at Houthi-controlled positions, causing human and material losses, including personnel and military vehicles," the statement noted.

The operation came in response to a Houthi drone attack that killed a soldier, the forces said, without providing further details regarding the incident. The Houthis had not immediately commented on the statement.

Regional conflict

Separately, the Yemeni army reported earlier on Tuesday that its own drone strikes in southwestern Taiz province had killed or injured a "large number" of Houthis, though specific casualty figures were not disclosed. The escalation comes amid renewed fears of a return to full-scale war in the country.

Yemen has endured nearly 12 years of conflict since the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition intervention in support of the government. A relative lull held since April 2022 has frayed since late 2023 when the Gaza war prompted the Houthis to target Israeli territory and Red Sea commercial shipping.