The Houthis escalate their attacks on Taiz and the western coast with ballistic missiles and drones

On Thursday, the Iranian-backed Houthi group escalated its military operations on several fronts west of Taiz Governorate and the western coast, coinciding with the bombardment of more than 12 ballistic missiles that targeted rural areas in the Taiz and Hodeidah governorates, while violent confrontations broke out with government forces and the National Resistance in Maqbana, Al-Kadha, Al-Masry, and Ghubari.

Military sources reported that the confrontations began in the early hours of Thursday morning, with a massive Houthi attack targeting the positions of government and resistance forces in a number of combat sectors, before developing into direct clashes and artillery shelling that continued for hours.

The sources said that during the attack, the group used hundreds of artillery shells and mortar shells, in conjunction with the flight of drones and their use in combat operations, while the confrontations extended to the hills overlooking the Al-Aqma area in the Mawza District, where the commando brigades of the National Resistance are stationed.

According to military sources, during the first hours of the attack, the Houthis were able to control a number of sites, before government forces, the Taiz axis, and the National Resistance launched a counterattack during which they regained a number of sites they had lost.

The sources denied that the ballistic missiles had an impact on the theater of combat operations of the government forces, noting that the majority of the Houthi missile bombardment was focused on the vicinity of vital installations and civilian and military supply lines, which led to creating a state of panic among civilians.

The sources indicated that there were deaths and injuries among the government forces, while the Houthis suffered losses among their members, without specifying the number of casualties on both sides, while information indicates that 4 Houthi members were captured.

The Houthi missile bombardment focused on the vicinity of vital installations and civilian and military supply lines, which created a state of panic among civilians, while these Houthi attacks coincided with offensive ground movements that the government and joint forces responded to, and were able to thwart them completely and extinguish the sources of fire, according to Yemeni army data.

Reports from the Joint Operations Room stated that the air defense systems and military formations on the West Coast “deal with high vigilance with these recurring missile threats, which have become the most prominent pattern of the group’s attempts to compensate for its successive field losses on the ground,” and to send escalatory messages related to regional developments in the Red Sea corridor and the strategic Bab al-Mandab.

These attacks were accompanied by an infiltration attempt and a ground attack carried out by members of the Houthi group towards the positions of government forces in the Al-Kadha area within the “Al-Barah” axis, west of Taiz Governorate.

Three marches

In the context of the air escalation, government forces announced the downing of three Houthi drones while they were flying in defenseless airspace in the Jabal Habashi District, coinciding with the continuation of confrontations on the fronts west of Taiz.

Military sources said that dealing with the drones came at a time when the group continued to use drones to attack the positions of government and resistance forces, while clashes continued in a number of sectors, amid reinforcements and deployment of forces to combat sites.

The ground escalation coincided with a new wave of Houthi missile bombardment on areas of the western coast, where the group fired more than 12 ballistic missiles towards separate areas east and north of the city of Mokha, and others belonging to the Al-Khawkhah District in Hodeidah Governorate.

According to local sources, the rockets were launched from the group's sites in Ibb Governorate and the Al-Hawban and Sharaab areas, east and north of Taiz, while one of the rockets caused a fire in the northern outskirts of the city of Mokha.

The sources said that violent clashes took place between members of the Houthi group and the Al-Nasr Brigade of the Yemeni army on the Maqbanah front, west of Taiz, after violent bombardment carried out by the Houthis, who pre-empted the confrontations with artillery shelling along the front.

The military media of the National Resistance reported that the Houthis fired eight ballistic missiles towards the Mokha countryside, while a ninth missile landed south of Al-Khawkha District. Local sources confirmed that three additional missiles were launched a short time later, bringing the number to more than 12 missiles within a short period of time.

Targeting the coast

The missile bombardment came in conjunction with the ongoing battles on the Maqbana and Al-Kadha fronts, west of Taiz, while the air defenses of the Taiz axis dealt with the drones launched by the group during the attack.

This escalation comes hours after the Houthis targeted residential areas and the vicinity of camps for displaced people and fighting fronts in Taiz, at a time when the governorate and the western coast are witnessing a continuous field escalation since last August.

Government forces and the National Resistance continue to confront Houthi attacks along the fronts of western Taiz and the western coast, amid the group's continued use of ballistic missiles, drones, and artillery in its attacks.

The coincidence of the massive ground attack with the missile bombardment on the western coast reflects the expanding scope of the Houthi escalation in these areas, which during the past period witnessed repeated attacks that included military sites and areas close to residential complexes and civilian facilities.

On Wednesday, government forces in the Ma'rib and Al-Dhalea governorates launched military strikes targeting sites, gatherings, and vehicles belonging to the Houthi group, and published video scenes of that.

The Armed Forces Media Center announced that artillery units of the Seventh Military Region carried out a concentrated bombardment targeting Houthi sites, barracks and gatherings on the western Marib fronts, causing losses in lives and equipment. This was accompanied by the publication of scenes documenting some of the drone operations of the Third Military Region.

In Al-Dhalea Governorate, other scenes showed the targeting of a Houthi military headquarters and a residential building that the group converted into a military barracks.

The strikes led to human and material losses among the Houthis.

Confrontations are still continuing in a number of combat sectors, amid the deployment and reinforcements of government forces and the National Resistance, while the forces are dealing with Houthi missile and air attacks that included various areas in Taiz and the western coast.

The Houthi group made sudden changes in the leadership of two military regions, coinciding with the Yemeni armed forces intensifying their strikes against specific targets of the group, according to what a Yemeni military source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to the source, who requested to withhold his identity due to the sensitivity of the information, the changes included the commanders of the third and seventh military regions, in a move that he said reflects growing doubts within the group about the loyalty and competence of some of its leaders, in light of the escalation of government strikes, especially using drones.

The source said: “During the past few days, the group replaced the commanders of the third and seventh military regions with two old leaders who are considered among its closest loyalists in Saada.”

Field reconfiguration

The source, close to the field, explained that the reinforcements that the group brought to the fronts during the past twenty days were accompanied by a broad restructuring of field leadership, noting that about 90 percent of the sub-unit leaders, at the company and battalion level, were chosen from ideological leaders, the majority of whom belong to Saada Governorate.

The source attributed these movements to a “state of confusion and doubts” within the group, which he said was not limited to the tribal leaders or the newly polarized elements, but rather extended to senior leadership levels, including figures belonging to the social and sectarian circle closest to it.

He added that the group’s confidence in tribal leaders “has fallen to its lowest levels.” This prompted it to replace a number of field commanders with elements more closely linked to its central leadership.

Wing conflicts

The source linked some of the internal tensions to the growing influence of Ali Hussein al-Houthi, the son of the group’s founder, saying that his rise had created noticeable divisions among the leaders of the first rank.

He pointed to the disputes that struck the relationship between Ali Hussein al-Houthi and a number of prominent figures, including Abdul Hakim al-Khaiwani, head of the group’s security and intelligence service, and the military leader “Abu Ali al-Hakim,” along with a member of the so-called “Supreme Political Council,” Muhammad Ali al-Houthi.

Yemeni sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat indicate that representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are seeking to contain the escalating divisions between the group’s wings and prevent them from affecting its military and security cohesion, especially at a time when it is facing increasing pressure at the military and societal levels.

Asharq Al-Awsat published a report in August 2025 about the growing intelligence role of the son of the group’s founder. He now supervises most of the agencies and institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the coup government, based on the great support given to him by his uncle, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the current leader of the group.

Security and political sources in Houthi-controlled areas reported at the time that the intelligence and repressive role of Ali Hussein al-Houthi, who was given the rank of major general in security, and whose own intelligence service was established under the name “Police Intelligence Service,” increased significantly during the first months of the year 2025.

Dissatisfaction with Dhamar's arrests

In the same context, the military source reported that a new security apparatus linked to Ali Hussein al-Houthi recently carried out an arrest campaign that targeted about 70 people from Dhamar Governorate at once. This sparked widespread dissatisfaction in local circles.

The source said: “The available information confirms that a large part of the arrests and movements related to internal disputes are no longer carried out by the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service, but rather by a new security body,” referring to the agency that he said was managed by Ali Hussein al-Houthi.

These developments come at a time when the group is facing mounting military pressure on a number of fronts, amid indications that it is moving to tighten its security grip and rearrange its leadership structure. In anticipation of any potential breakthroughs or shifts in the course of confrontations.

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council stressed the continuation of measures aimed at restoring the state’s sovereign tools and drying up the sources of funding and arming the Houthi group, in conjunction with raising the levels of military, security and intelligence readiness on various fronts.

The Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, chaired a joint meeting of the Leadership Council and the government, in the presence of Council members and Prime Minister Shaye’ Al-Zindani, to discuss political, economic and service developments, in addition to military and security developments in light of the continued escalation of the Iran-backed Houthis.

According to official media, the meeting heard presentations from the Prime Minister, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Minister of Finance regarding financial, economic, and service performance indicators, and the measures taken to implement sovereign decisions related to combating smuggling and strengthening oversight and control over land and sea ports, which contributes to undermining the war economy run by the group and drying up its sources of financing and armament.

The meeting praised - according to official sources - the government’s efforts in managing the exceptional period, the regularity of its internal meetings, and the ability it demonstrated in dealing with economic, service and security files, in addition to the progress achieved in the path of reforms and maintaining financial and monetary stability.

He also praised the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the Presidential Leadership Council to address imbalances in the collection of public revenues, ensure the state’s access to its sovereign resources and fulfill its obligations towards citizens.

Restoring the tools of the state

The Yemeni presidential meeting expressed appreciation for the Saudi support, with those gathered affirming that this support represents a lever for the government’s efforts to fulfill its obligations, most notably disbursing employee salaries, improving basic services, enhancing economic and financial stability, and alleviating the human suffering resulting from the war.

The meeting emphasized continuing to restore the state's sovereign tools, strengthening procedures for compliance with the sanctions regime, and protecting citizens, the private sector, food and medicine supplies, and legitimate savings and transfers.

He also praised what he described as institutional harmony, working as one team, and mobilizing energies in the battle aimed at restoring state institutions and ending the suffering of the Yemenis.

Official sources reported that the meeting reviewed reports from the Ministers of Defense and Interior on field developments, the level of readiness on various fronts, and the measures taken to protect civilians, sovereign installations, national interests, and deter threats.

The meeting praised - according to Yemeni government sources - the efficiency demonstrated by the armed and security forces in their various formations in confronting the Houthis and thwarting their plans and the terrorist organizations affiliated with them to destabilize security and stability.

He praised the security and intelligence successes in tracking and prosecuting members of terrorist organizations, pointing to the most recent operation, which was the operation carried out by the Yemeni counter-terrorism forces and the joint special forces of the coalition to support legitimacy led by Saudi Arabia, which resulted in the killing of the spokesman for the terrorist ISIS organization, Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari.

Maximum readiness

According to official sources, the Yemeni leadership meeting directed to maintain military, security and intelligence preparedness at maximum levels, and to strengthen protection, early warning and integrated deterrence measures.

In the same context, the Yemeni Presidential Council stressed the strict implementation of measures related to combating smuggling and controlling land, sea and air ports, strengthening coordination between government agencies and local authorities, and dismantling smuggling, financing and supply networks that benefit the Houthi group and terrorist groups.

The Yemeni Leadership Council stressed that smuggling represents a direct threat to national security and a source of draining state resources and financing the economy of armed groups, stressing the need to deal firmly with its networks and hold accountable those involved in them, and those who provide them with protection or facilities, regardless of their positions and characteristics.

The Presidential Council directed the government to continue implementing the established measures according to clear priorities and specific timetables, including the level of achievement, the results achieved, and the necessary corrective measures, in a way that enhances the principle of responsibility and accountability in implementing decisions.