At least 73 people were killed in a Houthi missile attack on a military training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province, raising fears of further escalation as government forces push to recapture rebel-held territory near the Bab Al Mandeb strait.
Monday's attack on Al Alam camp also wounded more than 200 people, while 14 remained missing, Shabwa Governor Awad Al Wazir said.
Injured recruit Nasser Sheikh Bahaj said three missiles struck as security personnel were training. He described a scene of explosions, flying shrapnel and injured colleagues calling desperately for help.
“We woke up for dawn prayers, then had breakfast and entered the training ground … suddenly we heard a loud explosion and shrapnel flew everywhere. Three missiles fell on the camp,” Mr Bahaj was quoted as saying in Yemeni media.
He said reconnaissance aircraft had flown over the camp during the previous three nights, filming the site. He added that he was wounded by shrapnel and remained at the scene, where other recruits suffered serious injuries.
“I sat holding my wound and heard my colleagues shouting, ‘Ambulance. Vehicles. Save us.’ Some had lost their hands, while others were injured in their legs,” he said.
A driver helped him board a military vehicle carrying about 10 seriously wounded people, who were taken to the Authority Hospital in provincial capital Ataq. Video showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground at the Martyr Ahmed Al Sulaymani training centre, where new recruits were attending a training course.
The Houthis acknowledged attacking the facility, describing it as a concentration of “Saudi enemy” forces managed by officers from the kingdom. The Iran-backed group claimed Saudi personnel were among dozens of people killed or wounded. Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hospitals overwhelmed
Reports from Shabwa General Hospital and other medical sites in Ataq described chaotic scenes as ambulances and private vehicles carried casualties.
Medical sources said some of the wounded were in critical condition, while residents responded to urgent appeals for blood donations.
Shabwa authorities called for urgent military and security measures to prevent further attacks, urging Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition to provide air defence systems, early-warning capabilities and other equipment.
Rashad Al Alimi, head of the council, condemned the attack and accused the Houthis of “resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they faced pressure or their plans were thwarted”. He instructed authorities to respond firmly, the official Saba news agency reported.
Fishing boats suspected of smuggling hit
The Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis said it tracked and attacked traditional fishing boats suspected of smuggling weapons to the Houthis.
Footage released by the coalition's joint forces command showed a vessel at sea under surveillance, highlighted by a red circle before apparent explosions.
In a statement, the coalition said the use of traditional maritime vessels to smuggle weapons and military equipment threatened Yemen's security, as well as regional and international stability.
The Houthis have recently attacked government-held sites, including Aden airport and the presidential palace in the interim capital. A missile and drone attack on the presidential palace killed five security personnel, Yemeni authorities said.
The Houthis also claimed on Monday to have attacked Saudi energy, airport and military targets, including an Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha airport. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the claims.
Yemeni government forces this month launched a campaign to recapture Houthi-held areas, making advances near the Bab Al Mandeb strait, while the rebels continue to besiege Taiz, a major stronghold of anti-Houthi forces in the southern highlands.
Shabwa, an energy-rich province on Yemen’s southern coast, is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas site, the country’s largest industrial investment.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military intervention followed in 2015, at the request of the government. A truce brokered in 2022 held until this year, when fighting intensified again.
The conflict has become another front in the wider US-Israeli war against Iran, with the Houthis escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter. Yemen is gripped by one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with renewed fighting threatening to worsen conditions for civilians.
