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The Saudi-led coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen announced that its forces destroyed 136 military targets belonging to the Houthi militia in a large-scale operation. Major General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition spokesperson, stated in posts on X that the strikes targeted personnel and capabilities of what he described as the Houthi terrorist militia. “We are carrying out a large-scale operation targeting the personnel and capabilities of the Houthi terrorist militia,” al-Maliki wrote. He added in a separate post, “We destroyed 136 military targets in areas controlled by the Houthi terrorist militia.” The announcement was widely reported by international news outlets including Le Monde.
Le Monde with AFP reported that the latest strikes hit areas in Yemen’s northwestern Saada governorate as the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has intensified. Attacks by the Houthis on Riyadh international airport earlier this week killed three people according to Saudi officials. The fighting has spilled over into Saudi Arabia with Houthi drone and missile strikes on civilian and infrastructure targets.
This operation forms part of Operation Dawn of Yemen that the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council launched on October 5 to retake territory lost to the Houthis. The New York Times reported that the Houthis had seized wide swaths of territory along the Red Sea coast in September including positions near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Yemeni government forces backed by coalition air power have been advancing to reclaim those areas in recent days.
On October 5 the coalition said 100 fighter jets participated in initial strikes that destroyed 324 high-value targets according to multiple reports. A subsequent update on October 7 announced the destruction of 82 additional targets across four governorates including command-and-control centers and weapons depots. The combined total of targets destroyed in the three announcements stands at 542 a tally compiled by Sheba Intelligence shows.
The Yemeni military separately reported conducting more than 1,100 attacks in the initial phase of the operation with the number rising to over 2,750 in a later 24-hour period according to official statements cited by Sheba Intelligence. These operations focused on neutralizing Houthi fighters, artillery positions and supply lines. Ground forces from allied militias such as the Giants Brigade have also engaged in combat to push back Houthi positions.
The broader conflict dates to the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in 2014 that prompted the Saudi-led intervention in 2015 to restore the recognized government a timeline outlined in reports by the Los Angeles Times. Recent escalations have raised concerns over impacts on regional security and global shipping through the Red Sea. Coalition actions continue to focus on degrading the Houthis’ ability to launch cross-border attacks.
