Houthis kill dozens of Saudi-backed Yemeni govt forces: Medical sources

The rebels have stepped up their attacks against their Saudi-backed foes since last month, adding to the regional turmoil after the U.S.-Iran war erupted Feb. 28. Houthi supporters chant slogans during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman) (AFP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed dozens of Saudi-backed government troops in missile and drone attacks Thursday, medical sources said, as the country’s conflict becomes the latest front in the U.S.-Iran war. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia. The attacks killed at least 38 government troops and injured 29, two medical sources told AFP. A military official described them as the deadliest clashes between the two sides since 2022. The Defense Ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognized government said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the missile and drone attacks “at the appropriate place and time.” The Houthi attacks risk pushing Yemen into a more intense cycle of violence and retaliation. The rebels have stepped up their attacks against their Saudi-backed foes since last month, adding to the regional turmoil after the U.S.-Iran war erupted Feb. 28. The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that a military camp in the Al-Ruwaik area of Marib province, in central Yemen, had been attacked, along with camps in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt province, near the Saudi border. One missile struck troops during their morning formation at the camp in Marib, “killing and wounding at least 45 personnel,” said a military source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. Saree named Al-Ruwaik, Al-Thaniyah and Al-Abr among the areas hit, warning the rebels were “prepared to confront any escalation.” Yemen, which has been embroiled in more than a decade of war, was drawn into the broader Middle East conflict last month as the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels abandoned a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government. The rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to the capital, Sanaa, triggering tit-for-tat attacks. They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began targeting the kingdom’s tankers. Last month, the Houthis killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces south of the port city of Hodeida, two medical officials told AFP. The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2014 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis. The rebels control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s populous north, while the government controls much of the south. The fighting had largely been frozen since a U.N.-negotiated truce in 2022 that continued to hold even after it expired. Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.