More than 50 people were killed in an Ansar Allah attack on a security camp, and an Egyptian vote on supporting Saudi Arabia was postponed.

More than 50 people were killed in an Ansar Allah attack on a security camp, and an Egyptian vote on supporting Saudi Arabia was postponed.

Published 19 October 2026, 13:35 GMT

Last updated 21 minutes ago

Reading time: 2 minutes

53 people were killed and 200 others were injured, Monday, in an attack launched by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) on a camp for training government security forces in the Shabwa Governorate in south-central Yemen, according to local authorities, at a time when the intensity of fighting is escalating in the country.

Video clips verified by Reuters in Shabwa Governorate showed injured people and blood-stained bodies scattered on the ground.

Local sources in the local authority, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, reported that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the security forces during training exercises that were taking place in the camp.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack that killed dozens of soldiers from the Yemeni government forces during training in Shabwa Governorate.

Shabwa Governorate is located in a coastal area in south-central Yemen, and has rich energy resources.

The Houthis, backed by Iran, and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been exchanging attacks since the Houthis advanced in September towards areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is a strategic sea passage at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

This month, Yemeni government forces began a military campaign aimed at regaining areas controlled by the Houthis, and were able to regain sites near the strait, while the Houthis imposed a siege on the city of Taiz, which is the last major urban headquarters for the forces opposing them in the southern highlands region of Yemen.

The attack comes in light of the expanding scope of the conflict in Yemen, which has become another front in the broader war between the United States and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other, with the Houthis escalating their attacks on Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of crude oil in the world.

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The Houthis targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the Saudi state oil company, Aramco, in attacks that came as part of a broader escalation of regional tensions.

In a related development, a vote in the Egyptian Parliament on authorizing the army to help defend Saudi Arabia, if the Kingdom requests it, was postponed to October 26, after it was scheduled to take place this week.

The war broke out in Yemen in 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, forcing the government to move south. The following year, a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to support the government, plunging the country into years of fighting that ended in a state of military stalemate.

The warring parties reached a truce in 2022, which lasted until this year, before fighting renewed and escalated in several areas.