Houthis claim direct strike on Saudi forces in Yemen’s Mokha

Yemen’s Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) carried out an airstrike targeting Saudi forces in the port city of Mokha, located in southwestern Yemen, AzerNEWS reports, citing Agence France-Presse.

The Houthis had previously claimed responsibility for attacks targeting Saudi oil facilities. Their latest announcement of a direct strike against Saudi military personnel has raised concerns over the possible expansion of the front line.

AFP, citing a medical source in Mokha, reported that at least 11 people were killed in the Houthi attack, including three civilians and eight military personnel. Earlier, two Yemeni government military sources confirmed that at least eight soldiers had been killed and more than 40 others wounded in the attack.

"We carried out a large-scale, precision strike on areas where Saudi enemy forces were concentrated and on weapons depots in the Mokha region," Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement

Saree added that multiple ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used in the attack. According to him, the strikes caused extensive destruction of Saudi military equipment and weapons, while dozens of people, including Saudi nationals, were killed or wounded.

Fighting has periodically intensified along several Yemeni fronts since last month, leaving dozens of people dead and wounded on both sides. Yemen had been under a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting military intervention by a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognized government.