ADEN — Yemen’s internationally recognised government has announced its biggest single-day offensive of the war so far, saying its forces carried out 835 strikes against Houthi targets in a 24-hour period and killed or wounded about 285 fighters and commanders, state and regional media reported on Thursday.
The announcement, made by army spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili in a statement posted on X, said the operations were conducted under the military campaign known as “Dawn of Yemen.” Al-Nazili said government forces used combat aircraft, drones, field artillery, rocket launchers and sniper units in the barrage, which also destroyed or disabled around 190 military vehicles, pieces of equipment and drones.
Taiz and Marib fronts see heaviest fighting
According to the army’s account, government forces reported fresh gains in Taiz and Marib provinces. In Taiz, southwestern Yemen, the Houthis deployed additional fighters and reinforcements in an attempt to retake lost positions, but the advance was repelled by government troops backed by Popular Resistance fighters, the spokesman said. On the northern and eastern fronts and west of Marib, armoured units, artillery and drones continued to pound Houthi movements, fortifications and weapons positions in what the military described as an effort to restrict the group’s ability to manoeuvre and shift reinforcements between battlefronts.
The strikes targeted Houthi gatherings, weapons depots, firing positions, fortifications and supply routes, the army said, adding that only what it described as legitimate, verified military objectives were hit, with precautions intended to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Follows earlier mass-strike claims
Thursday’s claim follows a string of similar announcements by the government military as its ground offensive to recapture Houthi-held territory — including the capital Sanaa — intensifies. On October 16, the armed forces reported 1,292 strikes and said more than 430 Houthi fighters and commanders had been “neutralised,” according to Arab News. Independent verification of battlefield casualty figures remains difficult, and analysts caution that claims from both sides should be treated with scepticism until confirmed.
Houthis counter with strikes on Aden and Riyadh claims
The Houthi movement has pushed back on the government’s narrative of dominance. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea has denied launching attacks toward Saudi Arabia this week, calling coalition claims “false.” Separately, Yemen TV reported that the Houthis targeted Aden airport with a ballistic missile, while the group separately claimed responsibility for striking a Saudi military operations room at Badr Camp, Turkish state media reported. The Saudi-led coalition, which has backed Yemen’s government since 2015, said on Thursday it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Riyadh region, coalition spokesperson Turki Al Maliki announced on X.
The escalation comes as the region’s conflicts increasingly overlap. The Saudi-led coalition has been backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015, and the latest “Dawn of Yemen” claims arrive amid intensifying fighting across Taiz, Marib, Saada and Sanaa — with the government vowing its operations will continue in line with its military plan.
