Houthi attacks kill at least 30 Yemeni government troops

Aug 6 (Reuters) – At least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in attacks on military camps in Yemen’s Marib and Hadramout provinces on Thursday, government sources said, adding that the death toll could rise.

The Iran-aligned Houthis later claimed responsibility for missile and drone strikes targeting what they described as Saudi military deployments in the two provinces.

The Houthis said they struck what they described as Saudi troop concentrations in the Al Ruwayk, Al Abr and Al Thaniyah areas with ballistic missiles and drones. The group said hundreds of Saudi-aligned fighters were killed or wounded, and that military camps, weapons depots and vehicles were destroyed.

Reuters could not immediately verify the Houthi account.

The Houthis said they launched the operation after detecting what they described as a large Saudi military build-up ahead of an escalation against areas under their control.

Yemen’s health minister ordered medical facilities in Marib and Hadramout to increase readiness to treat wounded soldiers. He condemned the attacks, saying they targeted military positions in the Al Ruwayk and Al Abr areas.

The U.S. Mission to Yemen expressed condolences to the families of Yemeni soldiers killed in Marib and Hadramout, saying the attacks were “yet another example” of what it called Houthi “terrorism” against the Yemeni people.

The Houthis have declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea since last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition in Yemen since 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government, after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. The conflict has devastated Yemen and triggered a prolonged humanitarian and economic crisis.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Additional Reporting by Reyam Mokhashef; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Ros Russell)