Yemeni army says over 35 Houthi fighters killed or wounded in Taiz

Yemen’s army said Friday that more than 35 fighters of the Houthi group were killed or wounded in a military operation targeting the group’s positions in southwestern Taiz province, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the army’s 35th Armored Brigade said its forces carried out a “swift and targeted operation” against Houthi positions and fortifications along the Aqrouz front in the Al-Misrakh district.

It said the operation targeted positions at Jabal Al-Manara, Kour, Wadi Kour, Al-Maqda, Al-Dabaya and Kahlan, leaving “more than 35 Houthi fighters killed or wounded.”

The statement did not specify the number of fatalities or injuries.

The operation also disabled a military vehicle equipped with weapons and destroyed Houthi fortifications at the targeted sites, it added.

The Houthis did not immediately comment on the Yemeni army’s account.

Taiz province has witnessed fierce fighting between the Yemeni army and the Houthis for weeks, killing and wounding hundreds on both sides.

READ: 1,574 killed, 6,939 injured in Yemen escalation since August: WHO

Taiz holds strategic importance as a geographic bridge and a vital link between Yemen’s northern provinces.

Control of the province would mean control over supply routes and key transport corridors connecting the interim capital, Aden, with the country’s central and northern provinces.

These developments are part of a military escalation that began in July and is considered the most extensive since the relative calm that followed a truce launched in April 2022.

Since Oct. 5, Yemeni government forces have been conducting Operation Dawn of Yemen, which Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said aims to regain control of state institutions from the Houthis and recapture the capital Sanaa.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several other provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

The Houthis control much of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and their allies hold Aden and large parts of the country’s southern and eastern provinces.

READ: Yemeni army says 512 Houthi fighters neutralized in 24 hours