Full story
Yemen camps hit
Houthi missile and drone attacks struck military camps in Yemen’s Marib and Hadramout provinces on Thursday, killing at least 30 Yemeni government troops and injuring dozens, with government sources warning the death toll could rise.
“At least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in attacks on military camps in Yemen's Marib and Hadramout provinces on Thursday”
The Houthis later claimed responsibility for the strikes, saying they targeted what they described as Saudi military deployments in the two provinces with ballistic missiles and drones.
In Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran region, a Saudi official accused the Houthis of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas, injuring 11 civilians including a four-year-old child, while Maj General Turki al-Maliki said the coalition would continue taking all necessary measures to protect civilians.
The BBC described the Yemen fighting as “the fiercest escalation between the two sides since 2022,” and said the coalition reported 11 civilians were injured in the Najran region.
The New York Times said the Houthis targeted “several camps and units of the Armed Forces deployed in Marib and Hadramout provinces,” threatening to reignite Yemen’s civil war.
Competing claims and warnings
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military build-up backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and the South China Morning Post said the attacks killed at least 58 government troops.
The BBC reported that the coalition spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, offered condolences for the “treacherous Houthi attack,” while the Saudi-led coalition said the injuries in Najran included seven Saudi citizens, among them a woman and a four-year-old child who sustained second-degree burns.
In a statement carried by the Saudi state agency, Turki al-Maliki said, “The terrorist Houthi militia carried out these terrorist attacks using indiscriminate shelling against civilian objects,” and the AP said the attacks took place in Najran near the Yemeni border.
The Guardian framed the escalation as part of a wider regional spiral, noting that a senior Saudi official said the kingdom was expecting “imminent coordinated attacks from the north and south” by Iraqi militias and the Houthis under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The New York Times reported that Yahya Saree warned the Saudi government that it “will bear the consequences of any escalation,” after the Houthis said they had launched a “large number of drones and ballistic missiles” at Yemeni military camps in Marib and Hadramout.
What’s at stake next
Saudi Arabia’s defence posture and contingency planning featured in the BBC’s account, which said a senior Saudi official told Reuters that intelligence reports indicated possible strikes on civilian and economic sites, including energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
“possible strikes on civilian and economic sites, including energy infrastructure, ports and airports”
The BBC also reported that an Iraqi security source said security forces had begun deploying in several areas in implementation of the Supreme Commander’s directives, with the source saying the deployments focus on securing open spaces and empty areas in anticipation of any drone or missile launches.
In Yemen, the Reuters report said Yemen’s health minister ordered medical facilities in Marib and Hadramout to increase readiness to treat wounded soldiers, while the New York Times said the Yemeni defense ministry warned the Houthis’ escalation threatened to reignite the civil war.
The New York Times added that the Houthis’ blockade of Saudi oil shipping in the Red Sea and their firing on passing commercial vessels have been part of the renewed clashes, and it said the Houthis warned Saudi Arabia that it “will bear the consequences of any escalation.”
The Guardian said European fashion retailers faced scrutiny after the attacks in Yemen, but the immediate regional stakes in the same reporting centered on the US-Israeli war with Iran and the risk that Yemen’s crisis continues to “spiral” as Houthis step up attacks against both government forces and neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
