3 Yemeni pro-government soldiers killed in clashes with Houthis in southwestern Taiz province

Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abushamala

Three pro-government soldiers were killed and seven others injured in clashes with the Houthi group in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province, a military spokesperson said Saturday.

Wadah al-Dubaish, spokesperson for the pro-government Joint Forces on Yemen’s western coast, said the casualties were members of the National Resistance forces.

In a statement posted on US social media platform X, al-Dubaish said hours-long clashes erupted Friday on the Al-Barh front in western Taiz after the Houthis attempted to attack National Resistance positions.

He said the attack was launched from several directions in successive waves, accompanied by artillery shelling and covering fire, as well as attempts to infiltrate military positions.

National Resistance units carried out counterattacks and ambushes to thwart the advance, leaving an estimated “45 to 55 Houthi fighters dead, wounded or missing,” he claimed.

Several Houthi vehicles and fire-support systems were destroyed or disabled, while drone units were used for surveillance and targeting, forcing the attacking forces to retreat to rear positions, he added.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group on the claim.

Earlier Saturday, the Yemeni army said a security officer at Mokha Port was killed, two sailors went missing and eight civilians were injured in an attack it blamed on the Houthis involving six ballistic missiles on Friday evening.

The Houthis, for their part, said Friday evening that they had targeted what they described as concentrations of Saudi troops and weapons belonging to Saudi forces and their allies, as well as military boats in the Mokha area, with a large number of ballistic missiles. The group made no mention of civilian casualties.

State-run Yemeni news agency Saba initially said Friday that the Houthis had struck Mokha Port with four ballistic missiles. It later reported that the city had been hit by six missiles, killing four civilians, while Saturday’s army statement said six missiles targeted the port.

Yemen has witnessed a relative lull since April 2022 in a war that began nearly 12 years ago between government forces and the Houthis, who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, and other cities and provinces since September 2014.

Fighting has resumed in several provinces in recent weeks, however, including Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Dhalea and Taiz, as the country continues to face one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises.

A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government supports government forces, while Iran is accused of backing the Houthis. The Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in July.