Yemeni forces down 3 Houthi drones amid airstrikes on group’s positions

Yemeni government forces said Monday that they shot down three Houthi drones in Taiz and Shabwa provinces while warplanes struck the group’s positions and military assets in western Taiz.

The government-aligned Giants Brigades said one Houthi drone was downed on the Kahbub front near Bab el-Mandeb, while two first-person view (FPV) attack drones were intercepted in Bayhan before reaching their targets.

Separately, Yemen’s military-run September Net website said airstrikes hit Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles around Mokha and Al-Barh Bridge in western Taiz.

No casualties or damage were reported.

Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi warplanes carried out 54 strikes across Taiz, Lahj, Al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah provinces over the previous 24 hours.

He said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from Saudi airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif were used in the strikes and threatened retaliation.

Saudi authorities had not immediately commented on the claim, while the Houthis had not responded to the government forces’ account.

Confrontations between Yemen's internationally recognized government's forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July, following years of relative calm.

The country has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014 before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.