Houthi missile strike kills 58 at Yemen government training camp

Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 200 injured when Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked a government security forces training camp in Shabwa province on Monday, Governor Awad al-Wazir said, as fighting in the impoverished country intensifies.

Another 14 people remained missing after the Houthi bombardment of the Al-Alam camp, the governor said, The Express Tribune reported, citing Reuters. Video verified by Reuters from Shabwa showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground.

Local sources said the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at security forces during a training exercise. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on X that the group had targeted the camp, which he claimed was run by Saudi forces. Saudi authorities did not immediately respond.

Shabwa, an energy-rich province in south-central Yemen overlooking the Gulf of Aden, is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas plant, the country’s largest industrial investment.

Missiles on Marib

Late on Monday, the Houthis fired four ballistic missiles at the government-held city of Marib, the local government said, without giving details of casualties or damage.

• Sunday: eight ballistic missiles were fired at Marib, local authorities said
• October 15: an attack with nine ballistic missiles and seven other projectiles targeted residential neighbourhoods
• The city: Marib, an oil and gas hub, hosts more than 2.2 million displaced people, according to government figures

Separately, Yemen’s army said its forces repelled a Houthi assault on the Kahbub front in western Lahj governorate in the south. The army-affiliated Southern Giants Brigades said Houthi fighters launched successive waves of attacks, setting off hours of clashes, before being forced back.

Coalition warning on arms smuggling

The Saudi-led coalition warned the Houthis on Monday against using traditional boats to smuggle weapons, missiles and military equipment into Yemen, citing risks to civilians and regional security. Its Joint Forces Command urged boat owners not to cooperate with the group, warning that their lives and property could be at risk.

A widening war

The Houthis and the internationally recognised government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have been trading attacks since the group advanced in September towards territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea. This month, government forces began a campaign to retake Houthi-held areas, while the group besieges Taiz.

Yemen has become another front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran, with the Houthis escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh’s international airport and Saudi Aramco. On Monday the group said it had targeted an Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield and airports in Riyadh and Abha; Saudi authorities did not confirm the claims.

War broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. A Saudi-led intervention the following year led to a bloody stalemate until a 2022 truce, which held until this year.

Why it matters

Yemen was already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and aid agencies warn conditions are deteriorating fast. Pakistan, bound to Saudi Arabia by the Makkah defence pact, has repeatedly condemned the Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Read our reports on the Houthi arsenal and on the Makkah pact meeting in Riyadh.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and Reuters.