More than 270 government troops and Houthi fighters have been killed in fighting across Yemen over the past 24 hours, according to sources from both sides on Tuesday, as clashes intensify following a government counter-offensive.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the Saudi capital’s main airport, while denying allegations that their forces had been pushed back by government troops.
Fighting has escalated since Yemen’s internationally recognised government launched a counter-offensive last month to retake territory captured by Houthi fighters.
Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 115 troops had been killed during the past 24 hours, while dozens more were wounded in clashes and Houthi missile and drone attacks.
The latest fighting has been concentrated in southwestern Yemen, particularly around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key route for global energy shipments.
Houthi military sources said the group had lost around 160 fighters over the same period, mainly in Saudi air strikes on areas under Houthi control.
On Monday, the Houthis claimed they had targeted Riyadh airport and a refinery operated by Saudi state oil company Aramco.
Residents reported hearing loud explosions in the Saudi capital on Monday evening, followed by another blast on Tuesday that was heard across northern parts of the city.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has experienced repeated temporary airspace closures. Saudi authorities have not publicly confirmed the closures or acknowledged any strikes against the airport.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority, however, said on Tuesday that at least three people were wounded in attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemeni border a day earlier.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said on X that the missile, which was headed towards Khamis Mushait, had been intercepted and destroyed. The city hosts a major airbase.
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree rejected claims that the group had lost its recent territorial gains, saying the Houthis continued to control areas captured last month along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Saree said Houthi forces had carried out dozens of attacks in recent hours against government positions in Al-Jawf and Marib, as well as targets in Taiz governorate.
The Houthi health ministry said a Saudi air strike killed six members of the same family, including four children, in a village in Hajjah governorate near the Saudi border.
Saudi Arabia, a key supporter of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, has been providing air support for the counter-offensive.
Yemeni government forces claimed late Monday that they had achieved victories on several fronts. However, military sources stopped short of confirming the recapture of the strategic port city of Mocha, saying only that government troops had cut the area’s main supply route.
The sources also said government forces had driven Houthi fighters from several positions in Taiz, where fighting has intensified in recent days.
Mohammed, a 33-year-old charity worker who fled Mocha for Aden, said residents were living in fear.
“Life in Mocha has come to a complete standstill — there is no movement at all. The city has become a war zone,” he said.
Yemen’s government has vowed to retake all territory held by the Houthis, much of which is home to the country’s population and has remained under Houthi control for more than a decade.
The civil war intensified again in July following years of relative calm, opening another front in the wider Middle East conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
The Houthis seized control of Yemen’s western coastline along the Red Sea last month in the country’s deadliest fighting in years.
The group has repeatedly targeted oil and military installations in Saudi Arabia and has also announced a maritime blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping.
Pakistan and Turkiye pledged on Monday to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence agreement following weeks of Houthi attacks.
The prolonged Yemen conflict has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, leaving a large portion of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance.
According to the United Nations, the Houthi offensive along the Red Sea coast has forced more than 184,000 people to flee their homes.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations was “deeply concerned by the sharp escalation in fighting” and condemned Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Tuesday urged Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia to remain cautious and avoid sharing images or videos showing Houthi drone and missile attacks, interception operations, debris, security installations or other sensitive locations.
He called on the Pakistani community to comply with Saudi laws and official instructions, avoid spreading unverified information and rumours, and rely on official Saudi sources for updates on security incidents.
