Iran-Backed Houthis Targeted in Saudi Airstrikes on Yemen’s Taiz, Dozens Killed and Wounded

SANAA (Terror Monitor) — Saudi airstrikes on Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province have killed and wounded dozens of people, according to Houthi-affiliated sources, as fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government continues to intensify.

Multiple Houthi sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that nearly 30 Houthi fighters and eight civilians were killed in a series of airstrikes in the Taiz area on Sunday. The casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out two airstrikes on a market near the Mawiyah Junction, on the outskirts of Taiz. He said the attacks killed or wounded nearly 50 people and warned that the strikes would be met with a response.

Earlier, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television channel reported that seven people were killed and 40 others wounded when a Saudi airstrike hit a market in the area. The channel later quoted the Houthi Ministry of Health as saying that five children were among the wounded.

Houthi authorities said the strikes hit a market and several shops at the Mawiyah Junction. Images broadcast by Al-Masirah showed damaged vehicles and warehouses following the attacks.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government, however, gave a different account of the incident. A military source told the official Saba news agency that government forces carried out five airstrikes targeting Houthi weapons depots, military equipment and gatherings at several locations around Taiz, including the Mawiyah Junction, Al-Saleh City and the Engineers Corps reception camp.

The government said the strikes targeted Houthi military positions rather than civilian sites. The competing accounts could not be independently verified.

Yemeni government forces have intensified military operations against the Houthis as the group has expanded its offensive in western Yemen. According to AFP, government forces have recently reported recapturing positions in Taiz and conducting airstrikes against Houthi fighters.

Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, a spokesman for Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces, said the military had conducted 756 operations over a 72-hour period and targeted Houthi positions and personnel. He claimed that 2,316 Houthi fighters, including four Iranian nationals, were targeted during the operations. The figures were issued by the Yemeni government and could not be independently verified.

The latest violence follows years of relative calm after the UN-brokered truce of 2022. Fighting has intensified in recent months, with the Iran-backed Houthis making advances in western Yemen while government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, seek to contain their expansion.

Reuters has reported that renewed fighting has raised concerns over the security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategically important maritime route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The escalation has also drawn renewed international attention. On September 21, foreign ministers of the Group of Seven called on Iran to stop arming and supporting the Houthis and urged the group to halt military operations and attacks affecting civilian shipping.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt have separately reaffirmed Riyadh’s right to defend itself under international law amid attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis. The four countries also called for freedom of navigation and stressed dialogue and diplomacy as the means of addressing regional conflicts.

The renewed fighting comes amid broader regional tensions involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern states, further complicating efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement in Yemen.