Yemeni army says 10 soldiers killed, Houthi attack repelled in Saada

By Mohammed Sameai and Tarek Chouiref

SAADA, Yemen / ISTANBUL (AA) - The Yemeni army said Friday that it repelled a major Houthi assault in the northern province of Saada, in clashes that left 10 soldiers dead and dozens of Houthi fighters killed or injured.

In a statement shared by the military media center on X, Brig. Gen. Yasser Mujalli, commander of the Alab Axis and the 63rd Infantry Brigade, said Houthi forces launched a wide-scale attack at dawn targeting army positions along the Alab front in northern Saada.

“Our forces detected enemy movements and thwarted the attack,” Mujalli said, adding that a counteroffensive inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis and forced them to retreat.

“Dozens of enemy fighters were killed or wounded, and their bodies remain scattered in the valleys and rugged terrain,” he said, noting that three Houthi military vehicles were also destroyed.

Mujalli confirmed that 10 soldiers were killed “while fulfilling their national duty with honor and bravery.”

There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group on the incident.

The clashes are said to be the fiercest clashes between the two sides since August 2022, when a similar battle in Taiz province left 10 government soldiers and 23 Houthi fighters dead.

While a UN-brokered truce declared in April 2022 led to a relative reduction in hostilities, intermittent fighting has continued to threaten the fragile calm.

The Houthi group continues to control several provinces in northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, which it seized on Sept. 21, 2014.

In December 2023, UN envoy Hans Grundberg announced that both the Yemeni government and the Houthis had agreed to a roadmap including a nationwide ceasefire and measures to improve humanitarian conditions. However, the plan has yet to be implemented amid mutual accusations of non-compliance.