Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers, Yemeni military officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting.
It sits on a route to the government-controlled province of Marib and crucial supply lines for government forces. The attack was part of a recent surge in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-US conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war. It was one of several that killed or wounded more than 30 people over the weekend, according to the rebels. Earlier reporting noted: Houthi rebels strike government military camp in southern Yemen, killing at least 20 fighters Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday (October 19, 2026), killing at least 20 soldiers, two Yemeni military officials said.
Because they were not authorized to brief the media, the military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity. Because the kingdom has supported Yemen’s government in the civil war, the Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. Because they were not authorised to brief the media, earlier reporting noted: The military officials with the internationally recognised government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity.
One of the military officials said that those targeted were part of a newly established force called Rapid Intervention, which is tasked with defending the area. Earlier reporting noted: The rebels fired ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded at least two dozen of troops, they said.
The camp, which was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates, is located in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital of Ataq. An airstrike on Sunday blamed on Saudi-led forces killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said.
