Yemen · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Yemeni Air Force Strikes Houthi Targets Near Mocha And Dhubab, Kills Fighters
Yemeni Air Force struck Houthi targets in Mocha and Dhubab, destroying vehicles and gatherings. Strikes hit former militia headquarters and multiple sites, per military spokesperson.
10 outlets, one story, no spin found.
6 of 9 outlets skipped it: the Houthis seized the strategic island of Perim/Mayun.
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Mocha and Dhubab Strikes
The Yemeni Air Force struck Houthi targets in the Mocha and Dhubab areas, the country’s armed forces said, with Brig. Gen. Majid Abdullah al-Nuzaili saying the strikes destroyed Houthi vehicles and weapons.
“The Yemeni Air Force struck Houthi targets in the Mocha and Dhubab areas of Yemen”
Al-Nuzaili said the airstrikes were carried out near the port of Mocha and the Zaid al-Kharj shopping center in the city, and that Houthi fighters were killed near the administration of a water project in Mocha.
He also said a concentration of vehicles and fighters was struck at an animal quarantine facility on the Mocha-Dhubab road, about 11 kilometers from Mocha, and that another concentration of group members was eliminated near the former headquarters of a military commander on Mocha’s northern ring road.
The Anadolu Agency report cited by UA.NEWS said no additional details about the operation were immediately provided, while TRT World reported that the Yemeni army began air strikes on areas of Yemen's western coast, including areas surrounding the city of Mokha.
TRT World said the announcement on Friday came a day after the army declared an area around the Taiz-Mokha road a military zone and that Majid al-Nuzaili asked civilians to avoid using the Taiz-Mokha road and the Mokha-Dhubab road.
Road Warnings and Targeting
In a statement on X, army spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili told civilians, "Civilians must not use the prohibited roads until further notice," as TRT World reported the Yemeni army launched air strikes along the western coast.
TRT World said state-run Aljoumhouriya TV reported strikes targeting Houthi positions in Mokha, Khalid camp and Jabal al-Nar, including a strike aimed at a large gathering of Houthis inside the compound of a water and sanitation project in Mokha.
Local sources cited by Aljoumhouriya TV told the broadcaster that air strikes hit the Souq al-Kharj area in Al-Hali, Mocha, and that Aljoumhouriya TV separately reported heavy strikes targeting Houthi military equipment in the coastal district of Dhubab al-Mandab.
UA.NEWS similarly tied its account of the Mocha and Dhubab strikes to specific locations, saying the Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson stated that "the strikes destroyed Houthi vehicles and weapons" and that Houthi fighters were killed near the port of Mocha.
TRT World framed the broader context as fighting between government forces and the Houthis intensifying after clashes resumed in early July, following years of relative calm.
Shipping Route Stakes
As the Houthis advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, Al Jazeera reported that the rebel group seized the last towns on the coast early on Friday and pushed onto islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, strengthening control over the key shipping route.
“"Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab are safe and orderly,"”
Al Jazeera said Houthi fighters reached the coastal town of Mocha at dawn on Thursday and then moved offshore to seize nearby islands, with government sources telling Reuters that Houthi fighters had reached the town of Dhubab on the coast of Bab al-Mandeb.
It added that boats carrying fighters reached Mayyun Island, also known as Perim, after government forces withdrew, and that a Houthis’ military spokesman, Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, said the operation resulted in the expulsion of Saudi-backed forces from six districts covering 5,400 square kilometres.
In parallel, the Guardian reported that the Iran-aligned Houthis took control of the volcanic island of Perim, also known as Mayun, dividing the waterway close to its narrowest point, and said Perim island was built into the Bab al-Mandab strait’s chokepoint.
The Guardian also said the Houthi offensive has cost more than 500 lives and displaced about 46,000 people, citing the UN migration agency, while Al Jazeera quoted Hazem al-Assad insisting, "Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab are safe and orderly."