South24 Center (Aden)

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At least 11 people were killed and 32 others wounded on Sunday (August 9) in a wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting the Red Sea city of Al-Mokha and nearby sites controlled by the National Resistance Forces, which are aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, in one of the most extensive attacks in recent weeks.

AFP, citing a medical source, reported that three civilians and eight military personnel were killed, while 32 people were wounded, including six civilians. The source said all civilian casualties resulted from strikes targeting Al-Mokha Port. Two government military sources also confirmed that the Houthis launched several waves of missile and drone attacks.

The National Resistance Forces, which control Al-Mokha and surrounding areas, had earlier announced a lower toll of seven killed, including four military personnel and three civilians, as well as 15 civilians wounded.

Yemeni Transport Minister Mohsen Al-Omari said the port was hit by at least 25 ballistic missile and drone strikes, killing three port workers and causing extensive damage to infrastructure, including economic facilities, employees’ residences, hangars, fuel facilities and storage tanks.

Local sources told South24 Center that the attacks also damaged buildings, piers, commercial cargo and food supplies inside the port. Al-Mokha is one of the main ports under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government and has undergone rehabilitation in recent years to accommodate commercial shipping away from the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida.

Circulating video footage showed columns of smoke rising from the vicinity of the port as explosions continued. Reuters, citing three Yemeni government sources, reported that air defenses engaged Houthi drones approaching the commercial pier and storage facilities.

#BREAKING

Video: Smoke rises following the Houthi militia’s targeting of Al-Mokha port #south24 pic.twitter.com/fDwxC3fR0i

— South24 | English (@South24E) August 9, 2026

The National Resistance Forces said their air defenses shot down 11 Houthi drones involved in the attacks and also thwarted another attempt to target Al-Mokha’s solar power plant.

Later on Sunday, government forces said the Coast Guard destroyed an explosives-laden unmanned boat that was attempting to target the commercial pier at Al-Mokha Port, adding a maritime dimension to the missile and drone assault.

The incident was separate from another explosives-laden boat attack on Friday (August 7), when Yemeni authorities said the Houthis attempted to target an oil tanker off Al-Mokha before government forces intercepted the vessel before it reached its target.

Houthis Claim Responsibility

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks, saying the group carried out a “large-scale military operation” using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones against what he described as “Saudi military build-ups” and weapons depots in the Al-Mokha area.

Saree claimed that the strikes destroyed military equipment and killed or wounded dozens of people, including Saudis. In contrast, a government military source told AFP that Saudi personnel were present at some of the targeted sites but said no Saudi casualties had been recorded.

The Houthis said the operation came in response to what they described as continued “Saudi military build-ups” and military movements along the West Coast and in Taiz governorate, reiterating their formula of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation.”

Government military sources said the attacks were not limited to Al-Mokha, but also targeted anti-Houthi forces outside the city and sites on islands near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Other reports said the attacks also extended to Al-Khokha district in southern Hodeida governorate.

Al-Joumhouriya TV, which is affiliated with the National Resistance Forces, also reported that Hodeida Governor Al-Hassan Taher survived an assassination attempt after a Houthi ballistic missile targeted his residence in Al-Khokha.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government condemned the attack on Al-Mokha Port, describing it as a civilian and economic facility and saying it would take measures to protect ports, critical infrastructure and commercial supply routes.

Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi, during a meeting in Riyadh with the newly appointed US Chargé d’Affaires to Yemen, Neil Hop, said the targeting of Al-Mokha Port demonstrated what he described as the Houthis’ continued “systematic war” against the resources of the Yemeni people and the country’s critical infrastructure.

Al-Alimi called on the United States and the international community to move beyond a policy of containing Houthi attacks and take action to address what he described as the sources of the group’s military capabilities.

The large-scale attack on Al-Mokha coincided with a Houthi announcement that the group had targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy confirmed that a fire broke out at a facility belonging to the refinery and was brought under control and extinguished without casualties, but it did not specify the cause of the fire.

Al-Mokha Port lies immediately north of the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The latest attacks are raising further concerns over the security of maritime shipping routes amid escalating Houthi naval operations and broader regional tensions.