Houthi missile and drone raids kill 38 soldiers in Yemen's deadliest fighting since 2022 truce collapse
Coordinated attacks on three Saudi‑backed camps in Marib and Hadramawt left at least 38 dead and 29 wounded, raising fears of a wider regional escalation.
On Thursday, Iran‑backed Houthi forces launched a series of missile and drone strikes against three military camps held by Saudi‑supported Yemeni government troops. The assaults resulted in at least 38 soldiers killed and 29 wounded, marking the bloodiest day of combat since the United Nations‑brokered truce fell apart in 2022.
The first strike hit a base in the al‑Ruwaik area of Marib province during a morning formation. Subsequent attacks targeted positions in Al‑Abr and Al‑Wadiah in Hadramawt, close to the Saudi border. An unnamed military official said the Marib attack alone caused at least 45 casualties, either killed or injured.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility, stating the operation was a response to an alleged Saudi‑backed military buildup. He added that the raids hit al‑Ruwaik, al‑Thaniyah and al‑Abr. "We are prepared to confront any escalation," he said.
The violence represents a sharp escalation in a conflict that has been largely frozen since the 2022 truce, despite the cease‑fire’s formal expiry. The Houthis have recently begun openly receiving Iranian military flights in Sanaa and have imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi ports, raising the prospect that Yemen could become a direct front in the broader US‑Iran confrontation that intensified in late February.
In response, Yemen’s internationally recognised government pledged retaliation, declaring it would act "at the appropriate place and time," according to a defence ministry statement.
The latest attacks follow a pattern of Houthi provocations that began last month when the rebels welcomed an Iranian aircraft into the capital, announced the blockade of Saudi ports and started targeting commercial tankers. A prior strike south of Hodeidah had killed 16 government‑aligned troops.
The 2022 UN truce, although formally expired, had kept large‑scale fighting in check, limiting a war that has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Currently, the Houthis control Sanaa and much of the densely populated north, while the internationally recognised government holds the south.
Analysts warn that the recent raids could trigger a cycle of retaliation that draws regional powers more directly into the conflict. With both sides entrenched and external backers increasingly involved, the likelihood of a return to full‑scale war appears higher now than at any point in the past three years.
