Yemeni Government Forces Seize Strategic Al-Jawf Mountain Range in Offensive Against Houthis

Yemeni government forces have advanced further into the al-Dahida mountain range in eastern al-Jawf province, following their claim of capturing the heights in an offensive against the Houthis. The armed forces announced on Wednesday that troops, supported by fighter jets and drones, had stormed Houthi fortifications and barracks in the region, seizing weapons and military equipment. The statement also indicated that air and drone strikes had targeted Houthi gatherings and depots, resulting in significant losses for the Iran-backed group.

These reported gains are part of Operation Dawn of Yemen, now in its second month. Government forces had spent weeks attacking Houthi positions before announcing the recapture of several strategic overlooks east of al-Hazm, the provincial capital. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council of the internationally-recognised government, stated that the operation would persist until state institutions and the government's authority were restored nationwide.

Fighting has intensified on multiple fronts. A Houthi ballistic missile struck a military training camp in the southern province of al-Dhalea, killing eight people and wounding over 15, according to a military source. The missile reportedly hit a gathering of recruits at the al-Jumaima camp in northern al-Dhalea. Official casualty figures have not been released, with some Yemeni media reporting higher numbers.

Government forces also reported conducting air strikes on Houthi positions in western Taiz province. In northern Lahij, they claimed to have recaptured positions in the al-Maqatira district, a crucial defensive line connecting Taiz with Aden, the capital of the internationally recognised government. Houthi-affiliated media reported four air strikes on a Central Security Forces camp in the city of al-Bayda and a strike on a health centre in the al-Silw district of Taiz.

Yemen’s Interior Minister Ibrahim Ali Haidan alleged that 21 foreign experts, 14 from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and seven from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, were directing Houthi operations, an accusation Hezbollah has rejected as baseless. Meanwhile, civil defence authorities in Saudi Arabia activated early-warning sirens twice in the southern Najran region on Wednesday morning, following a similar alert in the Riyadh region overnight. The Saudi-led coalition had previously announced intercepting and destroying a drone over Mecca. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied launching any attacks on Saudi territory. The United States embassy in Riyadh cautioned that Houthi attacks on the kingdom could escalate rapidly.