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Yemen army ups strikes on Houthis, retakes Red Sea coast positions

The Iranian-backed Houthis launched an offensive to take areas bordering the Red Sea, prompting heavy clashes and exchanges of fire with Saudi-backed government forces.

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government ride in a pick-up truck in the Hays district, south of Hodeidah, Yemen, Sept. 5, 2026.
Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government ride in a pick-up truck in the Hays district, south of Hodeidah, Yemen, Sept. 5, 2026. — Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s internationally backed government said its air force launched 13 airstrikes on Houthi positions in central Yemen on Monday, as the death toll from days of fighting between the two sides in the southwest of the country exceeded 300.

What happened: Yemen’s Army Media Center said in a post on the X platform that the strikes hit sites, gatherings and vehicles belonging to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group in the al-Sharyah, Dhi Na’im, al-Bayda and al-Sawadiyah districts of al-Bayda province, including a missile launch platform.

In a separate operation in the southwestern province of al-Dhale, Yemeni warplanes destroyed a Houthi command-and-control room and a thermal surveillance system on Mount Nasa, the military said.

Houthi-controlled media accused Saudi Arabia on Monday of carrying out airstrikes and firing cruise missiles in the provinces of al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Marib and Taiz.

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