At least 30 Yemeni government soldiers were killed and 15 were injured as a result of Houthi missile and drone attacks on military camps in the provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut. According to Yemeni sources, the death toll may increase, notes Reuters.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strikes, saying they attacked concentrations of Saudi-backed forces in the areas of Ruwaiq, Al-Abr and At-Taniya. According to them, hundreds of military personnel were killed or wounded as a result of the strikes, camps, weapons depots and military equipment were destroyed. There is no independent confirmation of these data.
According to Al Jazeera, the Houthis fired eight rockets from Al-Jawf province. Particularly heavy losses, according to preliminary data, were due to the fact that in one of the camps the military personnel gathered for morning training. The strikes were the biggest escalation of fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces in years.
Amid the escalation, Saudi Arabia announced its readiness for new attacks. Intelligence indicates the possibility of coordinated strikes by the Houthis and Iran-backed Shiite militias from Iraq against targets in the kingdom, including energy infrastructure, ports and airports, a senior Saudi official said. On August 6, shelling in the Najran area injured 11 civilians, including a four-year-old child.
Fighting in Yemen has intensified again in recent weeks after years of relative calm. The Houthis have declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, and the Riyadh-led coalition has resumed attacks on Houthi targets in western Yemen.