Dubai, Oct 21 (V7N) – Local Yemeni authorities on Tuesday raised the death toll from a Houthi strike a day earlier on a military camp belonging to government forces to 73, as fighting between the foes escalates.
It marked the deadliest attack in weeks as fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised, Saudi-supported government rages after the collapse of a years-long truce.
The death toll from Monday's strike on the camp in the energy-rich Shabwa province "increased to 73 martyrs, while search and follow-up efforts are ongoing to discover the fate of 14 missing people," provincial authorities said in a statement. Local authorities had put the death toll at 53 on Monday, adding that more than 200 others were injured, all new members of the internal security forces who were undergoing training.
Majed al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, stated Monday on X that the Houthis targeted Shabwa with three ballistic missiles, and that the attack "struck a training centre for personnel of security and police agencies." Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree later confirmed that the group was responsible for the attack, saying it targeted "Saudi enemy gatherings in Al-Alam camp, which is run by a Saudi officer from the eastern regions."
Shabwa contains major oil and gas fields and is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas terminal, the country's largest energy facility and a key economic asset. A government military source in the province on Monday said the army feared the strikes could pave the way for a ground offensive "similar to what happened in Mocha," the strategic Red Sea port city seized by the Houthis last month.
In a separate incident, the Houthis on Tuesday said Saudi airstrikes on two fishing boats killed eight people off the coast of Taiz province. The Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency reported that "eight fishermen were killed after the Saudi enemy's aircraft bombed two fishing boats today off the coast of Al-Kadha, in the Dhubab district." This area is located along Yemen's western coastline, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which the Houthis seized control over last month.
The attack marks a significant escalation in the conflict, which has reignited after the collapse of a years-long truce. The Houthis have been fighting the Saudi-backed government since 2014, when they seized the capital Sanaa. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The recent fighting has centered on Yemen's energy-rich provinces and strategic waterways, with the Houthis seeking to consolidate control over the Red Sea coastline and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane for global oil trade.
