Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile attack on a military camp in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province on Monday, killing at least 53 soldiers and injuring around 200 recruits, Yemeni military officials and the provincial government said. The Houthis acknowledged targeting the camp, in one of the deadliest attacks since fighting intensified again this summer.
The attack marks a further escalation in Yemen’s conflict, which has become another front in the wider war involving Iran that began in February. The renewed fighting has shattered a ceasefire agreement reached in 2022 that had largely halted hostilities in the country’s civil war. Meanwhile, growing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have prompted fresh security concerns, with the kingdom cancelling a major international investment conference and extending remote learning for schools in and around Riyadh.
Death toll could rise after Shabwa attack
The Shabwa provincial government warned that the death toll from Monday’s missile strike could increase. It described the attack as a deliberate escalation targeting new recruits who were still undergoing training and preparation.
“This bloody, treacherous attack targeted new recruits in the training and preparation phase and is considered an extremely critical military escalation and a blatant aggression on the security and stability of Shabwa province,” the provincial government said.
It urged Yemen’s president, the Saudi-led coalition and the government to speed up the provision of air defence and early warning systems to strengthen the province’s ability to respond to attacks.
Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s ruling Presidential Leadership Council, promised a “firm response”. He accused the Houthis of resorting to “cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they face pressures or their Iranian-backed sabotage plots falter”.
A Houthi military spokesman said the camp had been targeted because it was operated by Saudi officers, some of whom he claimed were killed in the strike. He provided no evidence for the claim. The Saudi government did not immediately comment.
Saudi Arabia cancels investment conference
The Houthi attacks have increasingly affected Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the civil war. On Monday, the kingdom cancelled a global investment conference scheduled for the following week and extended an order requiring schools in and around the capital, Riyadh, to teach students remotely.
In recent weeks, the rebels have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, oil installations and military facilities, including the headquarters of state-owned oil giant Aramco. They have also struck the country’s main international airport, hundreds of miles from Yemen.
On Monday, the Houthis claimed to have carried out six attacks against oil infrastructure, airports and military sites across Saudi Arabia, although they did not specify when the attacks took place. Saudi Civil Defence issued danger alerts, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The escalation comes amid wider regional hostilities. Iran and its allies in Lebanon and Iraq provide the Houthis with expertise, training and sophisticated weapons, according to the United Nations and other experts. Tehran denies arming the rebels, which would violate a UN arms embargo.
Rival claims over deadly airstrikes in Yemen
The latest violence follows a separate series of attacks in Yemen. On Sunday, the Houthi-run Health Ministry blamed the Saudi-led coalition for an airstrike in the rebel-held northern province of Saada that killed at least nine people. The dead included five children and two women.
The Houthis said several strikes over the weekend had killed or wounded more than 30 people. Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the reported airstrike.
The Houthis are a Shiite religious and political movement rooted in northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni kingdom, has long been concerned about a heavily armed ally of Shiite Iran operating along its border.
Riyadh joined Yemen’s war in 2015 after the rebels seized large parts of the north, including the capital, Sana’a. The conflict has since drawn in regional powers and repeatedly threatened the security of vital shipping routes.
Fighting intensifies near key shipping route
The Houthis have recently seized additional territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The narrow waterway is a crucial shipping route and an alternative passage for vessels seeking to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this month, the Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive aimed at pushing the rebels out of the strategic coastal area and retaking the territory.
The Houthis’ growing military reach has been on display across several fronts in recent weeks, as attacks on Saudi infrastructure have coincided with advances inside Yemen. The renewed fighting has added pressure to a conflict that had been relatively contained under the 2022 ceasefire.
US calls for release of detained embassy staff
Monday also marked five years since the Houthis detained more than 20 Yemeni employees of the US embassy in Sana’a. The embassy had suspended operations in 2015, but local staff continued to provide security and basic maintenance at the facility.
On Monday, the US State Department called for the detainees’ “immediate and unconditional release”.
(With inputs from AP)
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