Yemeni government forces claim 1,860 Houthis ‘neutralised’

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkThis screen grab taken from video footage released by the pro-Yemeni government Southern Giants Brigades on October 6, 2026 shows a fighter firing a turrent from the back of a "technical" pickup truck during clashes with Houthis in Taiz province. [AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff and ReutersPublished On 8 Oct 20268 Oct 2026Yemeni government forces said they have “neutralised” 1,860 Houthi fighters since launching a large-scale counter-offensive to retake territory under control of the rebel group.The spokesperson for the internationally recognised government’s army said in a social media post early on Thursday local time that they carried out 2,103 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi military positions across several fronts as part of the ongoing “Dawn of Yemen” operation.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Yemen’s Houthis attack Aden airport; Saudi forces down missile near Riyadhlist 2 of 3More than 200,000 displaced as fighting escalates in Yemen, UN sayslist 3 of 3Three killed, 36 injured in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, Riyadh saysend of listRashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced on Sunday the “Dawn of Yemen” operation to retake all Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa, which the Iran-backed group has controlled since 2014.Battles in Yemen have focused in recent days on areas around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a shipping route that has become more crucial for energy exports since the conflict between the US and Iran restricted trade through the Strait of Hormuz.Forces aligned with the Yemeni government launched an operation on Tuesday to capture strategic territory near the strait and around the city of Mocha, which the Houthis had captured in September. Coalition targetingThe Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Wednesday it destroyed 82 Houthi military targets in the Yemeni governorates of Saada, Hodeidah, al-Jawf and Marib.The spokesperson for the coalition said in a statement the targets included ballistic missile sites including “11 mountain-based ballistic missile storages in Saada, command and control centres, communication systems, missile and weapons storages”.The new operation followed Houthi attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport, according to the spokesperson.Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said the attacks on the two airports killed three people. One person was killed and eight wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport, and two were killed and 28 wounded in an attack on facilities at Abha airport, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement.