Yemen forces claim to seize Dhubab, sites near Bab al-Mandeb from Houthis

Yemeni forces claim to seize key positions near waterway as Pakistani, Saudi and Turkish officials to meet.The army of Yemen’s internationally recognised government says it has seized control of the Dhubab district and key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a day after the government announced the launch of a major military operation against the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God).“Forces from the Homeland Shield Forces and the Giants Brigades carried out a large-scale military operation with air cover targeting Houthi militia positions and movements in several areas of the district,” Yemen’s Saudi-backed military said in a statement carried by Yemen’s news agency Saba.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Saudi-led coalition dismisses ‘misleading’ Houthi claim of Riyadh attacklist 2 of 4Inside the ‘kill box’: The Yemenis who stayed behind in Houthi-held Mochalist 3 of 4Yemen’s leader announces military operation to retake Houthi-held territorylist 4 of 4Why is fighting intensifying in Yemen’s Taiz governorate?end of list“During the operation they advanced and seized important positions – cutting off supply lines and roads leading to Bab al-Mandeb,” an unnamed army source told the agency.A number of Houthi fighters were killed and wounded in the clashes with military equipment destroyed or damaged, according to the source.Government forces are “continuing to comb and secure the liberated areas and cut off supply routes to the Houthi terrorist militia”, Saba reported.Earlier, a spokesman for Yemen’s military said they launched 1,122 attacks against Houthi sites, including artillery positions, rocket launchers, and command and control centres.In a post on X, Brigadier General Majid Abdullah Al-Nuzaili said the attacks, using warplanes, drones, missiles, rockets, artillery and snipers, took place in the provinces of Saada, al-Jawf and Taiz and on the coast. He said 1,747 Houthi fighters were killed.