Government forces bomb Ansar Allah positions, and say they “seized the initiative.”
Published 19 October 2026
Last updated 4 hours ago
Reading time: 4 minutes
The spokesman for the Yemeni government armed forces, Majid Al-Nuzaili, said on Monday: “Our armed forces seized the initiative and expanded their offensive actions within the ‘Yemen Dawn’ operation, carrying out during the past 24 hours (1,164) accurate and direct targeting operations.”
He added, "Using military aircraft, drones, field artillery, launchers, and snipers, they destroyed the Houthi terrorist militia's concentrations, reinforcements, and mechanisms, blew up their fortifications, and disrupted their sources of fire and supply routes."
On Monday, 53 people were killed and 200 others were injured 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 sources confirmed that the missiles hit Camp Al-Alam, which is used by forces loyal to the internationally recognized Yemeni government, amid renewed fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis after the collapse of a truce that had largely held since 2022.
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In Taiz, Al-Nuzaili confirmed that the storming units “developed their attack, seized new positions, and pushed the militia members to retreat under intense air and artillery support, while the southern and Shabwa fronts continued offensive pressure on the enemy’s positions, restricting his movement and preventing him from reorganizing his formations or advancing his reserves.”
He pointed out, "Along the western front in the coast and Bab al-Mandab, the forces stationed there destroyed the onslaught of enemy formations, imposed fire control on their movement axes, and struck their mobilization areas and sources of fire. The operations resulted in the neutralization of (558) militia members, including field commanders."
He pointed out that government forces "destroyed and damaged (135) military vehicles and means, while our units continued to develop the attack and expand their field gains in accordance with the operational plan. The attacks were carried out against legitimate military targets, after verifying them and taking due precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects."
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The governorate's agent, Fahd Al-Khulaifi, said, "The seriously injured were transferred to hospitals in Hadramaut and Aden, after Shabwa's hospitals were filled with the wounded, who arrived there in large numbers following the attack."
Al-Nuzaili wrote on the X platform earlier Monday that “the Houthi militia targeted Shabwa with three ballistic missiles.”
He said that the attack targeted a training center for members of the security and police services.
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.
The Houthis targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the Saudi state oil company, Aramco, in attacks that come as part of a broader escalation of regional tensions.
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.
Yemen, which has been suffering for years from one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, is facing an increasing deterioration in living conditions, amid warnings from relief organizations of the worsening humanitarian needs in the country.
Air warning in Riyadh as Houthi attacks continue and explosions are heard
On Monday, the Saudi authorities sent a warning via telephone to Riyadh residents of the presence of a “hostile air threat,” according to what Agence France-Presse journalists reported, while attacks by the Yemeni Houthis have continued on the kingdom for more than two weeks.
The alert, which was lifted a few minutes later, said: “The area is under a hostile air threat. Please act calmly and stay at home or in a safe place away from windows and doors.”
Residents in northern Riyadh reported hearing the sounds of three explosions on Monday afternoon.
The “Future Investment Initiative” forum, known as “Davos in the Desert,” which was scheduled to be held in Riyadh at the end of this month, was postponed, according to what its CEO announced, while the Kingdom is exposed to attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The Saudi Future Investment Initiative Foundation organizes the forum annually, and this year's edition was scheduled to be held in Riyadh from October 26 to 29.
The closure of Riyadh Airport following bloody Houthi attacks has turned into a symbol of the dangers facing Saudi Arabia’s global ambitions, in light of the disruption of air traffic, business and residents’ lives, more than a week after flights were suspended.
The airport was officially closed hours after at least 13 people were killed in an attack by the Iran-backed Houthis that targeted a passenger terminal on October 10, in the deadliest attack in a series of strikes that targeted the airport over a period of days.
Saudi government agencies have informed employees of their administrative offices in Riyadh of the necessity of working remotely and not coming to the offices, starting Monday until at least the end of the week, according to what three sources told AFP, including an employee and two consultants contracted with two government agencies.
The Egyptian Parliament postpones the vote on military support for Saudi Arabia until next week
