Houthi Ballistic Missiles Kill 18 at Yemen Military Training Camp

Three ballistic missiles struck a Yemeni military training camp in the southern province of Shabwa during morning training on Monday, killing at least 18 people, Reuters reported, citing four government and medical sources.

The sources said the attack hit the al-Alam camp in the Jarudan district, where a training course was underway for soldiers of the newly formed Rapid Intervention Battalion. Some reports put the toll higher, with dozens wounded; casualty figures were still being confirmed across regional hospitals on Monday.

The strike came a day after an airstrike blamed on the Saudi-led coalition hit Saada province in the north. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said nine people were killed there, including five children and two women. Saudi Arabia has not commented.

The attack was among the deadliest in a recent surge of fighting that has shattered a 2022 ceasefire which largely halted Yemen’s civil war, according to the Associated Press.

Fighting has escalated in recent weeks. Yemeni government forces have launched a campaign to recapture Houthi-held ground near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the key shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Saudi military leaders are struggling to defend against the surge of Houthi missile and drone attacks, with air-defense batteries stretched across the country.

The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, did not immediately comment in initial reporting.