Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, launched significant strikes on Thursday targeting Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen.
Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni Armed Forces, said that drone attacks targeted “Saudi enemy gatherings and vehicles on several fronts” but didn’t specify exactly where the operations were carried out.
Saudi media reported that Houthi ballistic missiles targeted Taiz and Hodeidah, provinces that are both partially controlled by Ansar Allah and the Saudi-backed government, which is based in Aden, though its leadership has been based in Riyadh since they were first driven out of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014.
The footage released by Saree shows bombs being dropped from the sky onto militant positions, and Yemeni media said the attacks were carried out by Rujum drones, which drop small, grenade-like munitions. Saudi media reported there were significant casualties on both sides during fighting on Thursday and that the Ansar Allah attacks also hit civilian infrastructure, but no death toll was provided.
The war in Yemen reignited following Saudi airstrikes that targeted the Sanaa International Airport in July, which prompted Ansar Allah to impose a blockade on Saudi shipping, calling the policy a “blockade for a blockade.”
A ceasefire between the Saudis and the Houthis had held relatively well since 2022, but a Saudi blockade on Yemen’s ports and airports was never fully lifted. The strikes on the Sanaa airport were launched to enforce that blockade and were meant to prevent a plane from landing that was carrying a delegation of Yemeni officials who attended the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran. US and Saudi officials also alleged the plane was carrying weapons.
