A fake video claiming Houthi air strikes on Yemeni forces dates back to 2021

(CNN) - Social media accounts promoted a video clip claiming to show scenes of Houthi air strikes on Yemeni government forces within the strategic “Al-Labanat” camp in Al-Jawf Governorate, east of the capital, Sana’a.

The attached video shows footage filmed in a desert area showing distant plumes of smoke and what appears to be atmospheric activity at sunset.

The video received tens of thousands of views and interactions, prompted by a misleading description that said: “The legitimate forces fall into a trap... The Houthis deceive the legitimate forces. They withdrew behind the Al-Labnat camp, and then the legitimate forces advanced and fell into a complex ambush, where the Houthi Apache aircraft appeared and bombed all armored vehicles and vehicles, with reports of the killing and wounding of more than 170 individuals.”

Using a reverse search, we found a copy of the video in a Facebook post dated December 7, 2021.

At the time, the page publishing the video commented, saying: “A video was leaked during the participation of Houthi forces’ helicopters on the Marib front.”

Returning to the news archives at that time, the Marib Oil Governorate (central Yemen) had witnessed, in December 2021, confrontations between the Houthis and government forces as their attacks attempted to reach the city of Marib (the last citadel of the government forces in the north), amid a desperate defense from the National Army and the Popular Resistance and with intense air support from the Arab Coalition.

Contrary to what the claim accompanying the video claimed, Yemen does not have Apache attack helicopters in the Yemeni Air Force fleet, either in the past or currently. Yemen has historically relied on Soviet/Russian-made attack and combat helicopters, especially the Mi model.

The reappearance of the video on social media platforms coincided with its promotion by accounts whose posts expressed the interests of the Houthi group, after reports that forces loyal to the Yemeni government had taken control of the “Al-Labanat” camp in Al-Jawf Governorate, in an attack launched on Monday.

Meanwhile, Yemeni army spokesman Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili said, “The armed forces are achieving progress and victories on the Al-Jawf and Al-Bayda fronts, as part of operations aimed at restoring state institutions and ending the Houthi coup.”

While a Houthi military source said, in a statement to the group's "Saba" news agency, that "concentrations of the Saudi enemy were targeted east of Al-Jawf Governorate, and their armor and vehicles were destroyed, inflicting heavy losses on them."

The situation on the ground remains volatile between the two sides of the renewed conflict since the beginning of last month, with fighting taking place in governorates where the Houthis control areas, including Taiz, Hodeidah, and Al-Jawf.