DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source said, in one of the deadliest days of the country’s civil war in four years.
The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both government forces and neighboring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, according to the military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead.
Yemen has become a new front in the Middle East war that has grown around the US-Israeli battle against Iran.
A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday’s attacks on troop camps was the worst in Yemen since 2022.
Yemen’s defense ministry said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the attacks “at the appropriate place and time.”
The escalation spilled across the border on Thursday, with Saudi officials saying Houthi attacks wounded 11 civilians in the southern Najran region.
