Yemen/Anadolu

The Yemeni army announced Wednesday evening that it had foiled an attack launched by the Houthis on military positions in Al-Jawf province (north), while no immediate comment was issued by the group on the matter.

The website "September Net," the spokesman of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense, which is under the internationally recognized government, quoted an unnamed military source as saying that army forces "foiled an attack launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia on military positions in the Qanaw front east of Al-Jawf province."

The source added that army forces "inflicted losses in lives and equipment on the militia elements, forcing them to retreat and flee."

He affirmed that "all movements of the Houthi militia are subject to precise monitoring and tracking by the heroes of the armed forces."

Yemen's Al-Jawf province is located opposite the southern border of Saudi Arabia, and its areas are divided between the control of government forces and the Houthi group.

No immediate comment was issued by the Houthis regarding the announced clashes, which come amid escalating military tensions between the group and the Yemeni government.

On Monday, the Houthi group announced that targeting Sanaa airport means "the end of the de-escalation phase," following the Yemeni government's announcement that it bombed the airport runway to prevent the landing of an Iranian plane which it said had violated the country's sovereignty.

Later, the plane landed at Hodeidah airport in western Yemen, while the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa airport, with no comment from Riyadh.

The group also announced targeting Saudi Arabia's Abha airport with ballistic missiles and drones, while the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen reported that Saudi air defenses intercepted missiles fired toward the southern region of the kingdom.

The Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia drew Arab and international condemnations, including from the European Union, which considered it "a threat to the security and stability of the region."

Since April 2022, Yemen has witnessed a state of calm interspersed with intermittent confrontations, after a war that began about 12 years ago between government forces and the Houthi group, which has controlled provinces and cities, including the capital Sanaa, since September 21, 2014.