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Houthis Step Up Missile, Drone Attacks on Yemen's Marib
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Houthis Step Up Missile, Drone Attacks on Yemen's Marib

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Iran-backed Houthi group has intensified attacks on government forces in Yemen's Marib province with missiles and drones.
  • The renewed hostilities, following a major assault Thursday, raise fears of unraveling the 2022 truce and prompt calls for broader military action.
  • The attacks targeted military positions and displaced persons' camps, resulting in casualties, while government forces vowed a response.

Yemen's Marib province has become the focal point of escalating conflict as the Iran-backed Houthi group launched a significant missile and drone assault on government positions. This intensification of hostilities, described as among the most serious in years, threatens the fragile calm established by the 2022 truce.

Residents reported hearing successive explosions around Marib city and near camps housing displaced people on Friday, as missiles and drones struck government targets. Plumes of smoke rose from the area, with the Harib district also reportedly under attack. Field sources indicated casualties, including among the displaced population, while state-run Saba TV reported that government air defenses intercepted several explosive-laden drones.

Thursday's violence followed a large-scale Houthi assault on military camps and units in Marib and Hadramawt provinces, which Yemeni sources characterized as the most severe flare-up since the 2022 truce largely halted major ground operations. The Defense Ministry confirmed 17 military fatalities, with field sources suggesting dozens of soldiers were killed or wounded.

The government troops would respond at the appropriate time and place, stressing that the strikes would not undermine their ability to carry out their duties or continue the battle to defend the republic and restore the state.

— Yemen's Defense MinistryVowing retaliation and reaffirming commitment to defending the state following Houthi attacks.

The timing of these attacks coincides with ongoing government security and military operations in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra provinces, aimed at dismantling smuggling gangs and criminal cells following a series of assassinations of military personnel. Authorities linked the Houthi assault to recent government successes in pursuing wanted suspects and dismantling smuggling networks.

Following Thursday's attacks, an official in the office of Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi stated that developments were being closely monitored, and a series of calls were held with council members. The Defense Ministry vowed that government troops would respond "at the appropriate time and place," asserting that the strikes would not impede their duties or their mission to defend the republic and restore the state.

The Houthi assault to recent government successes in pursuing wanted suspects and dismantling smuggling networks.

— Emergency Forces media centerLinking the Houthi attacks to ongoing government counter-smuggling operations.
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Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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