Saudi Arabia–led coalition reports strikes on Houthis in Yemen

Coalition operations against the Houthis

The Saudi Arabia–led coalition announced early Monday morning that it had carried out large-scale operations against Houthi forces in Yemen. According to coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki, two ballistic missile launchers were destroyed in the capital, Sanaa, one of which, he said, had been used in the Houthis' recent attack on Riyadh. In a post on the X platform, al-Maliki said the coalition continues operations to dismantle the Houthis' ballistic missile network.

Statement on the right to self-defense

In a subsequent statement, al-Maliki said the operation was carried out within Saudi Arabia's right to self-defense and targeted Houthi military positions. According to him, the coalition destroyed five tunnels used to store ballistic missiles, four launchers, and one missile warehouse in Houthi-controlled areas. He also noted that the operation focused on disrupting supply lines between Houthi-controlled zones and on striking Houthi positions and military equipment along the front lines.

Houthi counter-statements

The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X that the group attacked positions of government forces in the Yemeni governorates of Aden and Lahij. According to him, two attacks were carried out using several ballistic missiles against weapons depots in the Salah al-Din district of Aden and the Al-Wahat district of Lahij.

Yemeni army figures

The Yemeni army reported on Sunday that over the previous 24 hours its forces, in 753 operations, had 'neutralized' about 218 Houthi fighters and field commanders, destroying or damaging 78 pieces of military equipment and weapons. According to the army, the operations targeted forward command centers, fortifications, firing positions, troop concentrations, reinforcements, and supply vehicles as part of Operation 'Yemen Dawn.' The army said the attacks disrupted the Houthis' transfer of reinforcements to the front lines and supported raids and ground offensives by government forces. There was no immediate Houthi reaction to these figures.

Conflict context

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since September 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa , and other provinces, leading to civil war. The Saudi Arabia–led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The Houthis control most of the country's north and west, including Sanaa, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces hold Aden and significant territories in the south and east. Control over a number of areas remains contested, and renewed fighting is shifting the front lines, especially along the Red Sea coast. Clashes between government forces and the Houthis have intensified in recent weeks; the Iran-backed group has also attacked Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones, holding Riyadh responsible for strikes on its positions. The exchange of mutual claims by the parties — the coalition, the army, and the Houthis — in the absence of independent verification means that the casualty figures and strike results cited so far are confirmed only by the parties to the conflict themselves.