The renewed hostilities raise fears of wider bloodshed in the Middle East amid the ongoing US war with Iran and escalating attacks on regional shipping
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched coordinated drone and ballistic missile attacks on several camps belonging to forces of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government on Thursday. The flare-up follows four years of relative calm in the small Arab nation, which has been plagued by civil war since 2014 and sits at a strategic shipping chokepoint on the Red Sea.
The Houthis struck troops, depots, and camps in three provinces across central and eastern Yemen after detecting a buildup of Saudi-backed forces preparing for an offensive, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a statement.
“The operation resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Saudi enemy mercenaries,” he said, warning Riyadh against any further “escalation.” Government forces acknowledged that some of their soldiers had been killed or wounded but did not provide figures.
Reuters cited government sources as saying that at least 30 soldiers were killed.
Reports are emerging of a significant Houthi assault on the Saudi backed Yemen Emergency Forces encampment near Marib, Yemen with several casualties reported. This video purports to show the aftermath of one of the attacks, though it has not been verified.
Marib is the… pic.twitter.com/6LmQyHkhW2
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 6, 2026
From point-blank range: Very powerful footage showing Yemeni army forces storming positions of the Iran-backed Houthi group on the Marib front.
– Yemeni army soldiers are seen assaulting Houthi positions. pic.twitter.com/gKpOt91Gnu
— The Middle East (@A_M_R_M1) August 7, 2026
Later on Thursday, the Houthis carried out strikes on Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran province, wounding 11 civilians, according to the kingdom’s military.
Footage shows a large fire erupting in Saudi Arabia’s Najran region just hours after Yemen said it targeted a military facility there with a rocket attack.
A Yemeni drone attack targeted Saudi-backed militia positions in the Hadhramaut province. LOUD explosions.
U.S. media… pic.twitter.com/HQsZZGtbUh
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) August 7, 2026
Why did the Houthis strike now?
The hostilities came amid mounting domestic pressures in Yemen, including a deteriorating economy, growing tribal discontent, and the humanitarian impact of the Saudi-led blockade imposed during the country’s 12-year civil war. They also coincided with rising regional tensions following the US-Israeli war against Iran, during which the Houthis declared their support for Tehran.
The Houthis previously fired missiles at Israel and targeted shipping in the Red Sea during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, prompting US, UK, and Israeli airstrikes in Yemen. The Houthi attacks largely ceased after the group reached a ceasefire with the US in May 2025.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rt.com
