Sanaa, Aug 17 (IANS) Yemen’s Houthi group said Monday it launched a ballistic missile attack on “a Saudi military landing ship” and four escort military boats off Mocha, a Red Sea port city in southwestern Yemen.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that the “direct and precise” hits set the landing ship ablaze, while some escort boats sank and others caught fire.
He said the Houthi group was closely tracking Saudi military movements in its ongoing campaign against Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the Yemeni government, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Separately, Saree said Houthi forces struck a weapons depot used by Saudi forces at the Sahn al-Jin camp in Yemen’s northeastern Marib province with several drones, claiming the attack sparked a fire.
The Houthis have sharply stepped up missile and drone attacks in recent weeks against government-held areas across Yemen and targets in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Mocha, a government-held port city, has emerged as a major flashpoint in the latest escalation. Since August 9, repeated Houthi strikes have killed and wounded dozens, damaged port infrastructure, and halted shipping at the port, which is located near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Yemeni government forces said Sunday they had launched 181 military operations against targets in Houthi-held areas over the past 24 hours, marking a sharp escalation in fighting between the two sides.
Government military spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili said in a statement posted on social media platform X that drones, artillery and rocket launchers were used to hit Houthi positions, weapons depots, military vehicles and other facilities allegedly used to launch attacks.
The operations killed or wounded dozens of members of the Houthi group and destroyed military equipment across seven provinces, al-Nuzaili said, without providing a detailed casualty toll.
He said the operations were launched in response to a recent wave of Houthi attacks on government forces, civilian infrastructure, economic facilities and ports.
–IANS
ksk/as
