CAIRO — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers, Yemeni military officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting. The rebels fired ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded at least two dozen troops. The casualties were primarily new recruits, one of the officials told The Associated Press. The military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Col. Majed al-Nazili, spokesman for Yemen’s military, confirmed that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at a training centre for police and security forces, but would not comment on the casualties. The Houthi-run SABA news agency claimed the rebel attack killed and wounded dozens but did not provide further details. The camp, which was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates, is located in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital of Ataq. It sits on a route to the government-controlled province of Marib and crucial supply lines for government forces. One of the military officials said that those targeted were part of a newly established force called Rapid Intervention, which is tasked with defending the area. The attack was part of a recent surge in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-U.S. conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war. An airstrike on Sunday blamed on Saudi-led forces killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said. It was one of several that killed or wounded more than 30 people over the weekend, according to the rebels. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks because the kingdom has supported Yemen’s government in the civil war. The rebels have been increasingly targeting Saudi airports and oil and military facilities, disrupting thousands of flights and killing 19 people. The headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco has been struck as well in a blow to the world’s top oil exporter. The rebels also recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi-led coalition this month launched a major military offensive to dislodge the rebels from that strategic perch and retake the territory. ___ Samy Magdy, The Associated Press Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, contributed to this report.
