Saudi-led coalition retakes key areas from Houthi rebels in Yemen, officials report

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have recaptured several key areas around Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni officials said Monday. The officials stated that forces allied with the internationally recognized government have retaken the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait. They also captured the towns of Bab and Hadeid, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Witnesses reported seeing government tanks and forces entering the towns. The government push came as part of a major offensive launched early Monday under air cover by a Saudi military coalition. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that it was expected that the Saudi-backed government in Yemen would retaliate against the rebels to reclaim territory. When asked if the Saudi-led coalition coordinated the action with the United States, Rubio noted that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have a defense agreement but did not provide further details. The Yemeni government was ousted from some of its territory by a Houthi campaign, and Rubio stated that "they have a right to defend themselves." The U.S. has provided support to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing campaign against the Houthis, according to a regional official and a U.S. official. This U.S. support included intelligence sharing, target identification, and planning for the offensive, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to reporters. The U.S. had supported the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis early in the Yemen war, before stepping back from the coalition in recent years. The offensive came just after the rebels announced they had captured more territory in the southwestern part of Yemen, taking a key town in a setback for the Saudi-backed forces as they advanced toward a strategic provincial capital in the region. The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, stated that 100 fighter jets were providing support to the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government fighting against the Houthis. He noted that the coalition has secured "air protection" of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets as part of the ongoing campaign. The Houthi rebels seized the town of Turbah on Sunday, shortly before the internationally recognized government announced a major military operation against them. The escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has revived Yemen's civil war after a four-year ceasefire. Turbah sits on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz with the port city of Aden, which serves as an interim seat of Yemen's government. Over the years, the town was a major post for the government forces defending Taiz against the Houthis. Earlier, the Houthis seized several villages and areas on Taiz's outskirts in a series of advances, paving the way for the rebels to encircle Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city. The Houthis made a swift push on the country's western coast on the Red Sea in early September, capturing the strategic city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, gains that enabled them to control the Yemeni side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial chokepoint through which 12% of global trade transits. In its announcement Sunday, the Saudi-backed government stated it was mobilizing troops across government-held areas. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said in a televised speech that the operations were aimed at "recovering the remaining territories" controlled by the Houthis. He called on the international community to provide support to his government. Hours after al-Alimi's declaration, the Saudi military spokesperson al-Malki vowed "full operational support" to the Yemeni government forces until the Houthis are "eliminated." Al-Malki also emphasized Saudi Arabia's right to take all necessary measures to deter the rebels who continued to fire missiles and drones at the kingdom as part of the nearly three-month escalation that revived Yemen's civil war. Al-Alimi stated in a post on X on Monday that the operation — dubbed "Yemen Dawn" — has commenced with the aim of "restoring state institutions, liberating" Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-controlled capital, and ending "the Houthi terrorist militia coup." Al-Nazili indicated that government forces were conducting a "strategic offensive" on Sanaa. The Houthi media office reported multiple airstrikes by the Saudi coalition on their territories, including Sanaa. The latest flare-up began in mid-July when the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing the airport in Sanaa to prevent the landing of an unauthorized Iranian flight. The rebels responded with missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government forces in the country. They also announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and attacked several Saudi-linked vessels. In September, they intensified their campaign, advancing down the Red Sea coast in their largest land grab in years. The rebels' capture of Turbah "will likely severely constrain Yemeni government-aligned forces' ability to reinforce and resupply front-line positions" across Taiz province and the provincial capital of Taiz, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. The think tank noted that "disrupting resupply has military value, of course, but controlling all the roads in and out of areas to the north of Turbah also prevents government forces from retreating out of the city." Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold, capturing Sanaa and forcing the government to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia. The war has created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters and killed more than 150,000 people. The latest bout of violence has resulted in at least 959 deaths and over 4,200 injuries, according to the World Health Organization. The flare-up forced approximately 174,097 people to flee their homes inside Yemen, according to the U.N. migration agency. More than 3,000 others fled across the waters into Djibouti, the agency reported. Last week, Yemen's health ministry — part of the internationally recognized government — warned about the conflict's impact on health facilities and medical staff across Taiz province. The ministry stated on Friday that health facilities in coastal, western, and southern areas of the province have closed or are barely functioning.