Aden (South24 Center)

Two Saudi officers were killed and a third was wounded on Wednesday (August 12) when an improvised explosive device exploded in the Hadramout desert in southern Yemen, according to two sources who spoke to South24 Center.

The blast occurred around midday in the Ruwik desert area, according to the two sources. They said the wounded officer sustained shrapnel injuries to the head and neck and was transferred to Al-Wadiah Hospital for treatment.

Local media later identified the two officers killed as Rakan Abdullah Al-Shehri and Abdullah Musaed Al-Talhi, while identifying the wounded officer as Turki Fayez Al-Asmari. South24 Center was unable to independently verify the identities of the three officers.

There was no immediate official Saudi comment on the incident, and no group had claimed responsibility for the bombing as of Wednesday evening. The circumstances surrounding the blast, including who planted the explosive device, remain unclear.

The incident comes amid escalating military and security tensions across the desert areas stretching between Marib and Hadramout toward the Saudi border.

The Ruwik route lies along a strategic desert corridor connecting areas east of Marib with Al-Abr in Hadramout and onward toward the Al-Wadiah border crossing with Saudi Arabia.

Separately, a South24 Center correspondent reported repeated drone activity over the city of Seiyun in Wadi Hadramout in recent days. The drones are believed to belong to the Houthi group.

Wednesday’s incident came less than a week after one of the most intense waves of Houthi attacks against forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since the informal truce began in 2022.

On August 6, the Iran-aligned Houthi group launched ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting military camps and positions in Marib and Hadramout.

AFP later reported, citing a military source, that at least 58 government soldiers were killed in the attacks.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the August 6 attacks, saying they had targeted what they described as Saudi military buildups and Saudi-backed forces in Marib and Hadramout in response to what they said were military movements.

The strikes hit military camps and positions in Ruwik, Al-Abr and other desert areas. Sources told South24 Center following the August 6 attacks that a senior Saudi officer had been killed and four other Saudi servicemen wounded in the strikes, although Saudi authorities have not publicly confirmed or denied the reports.

The escalation has also extended to fronts south of Marib. On August 7, three soldiers from the Shabwa Defense Forces were killed and four others wounded in a Houthi drone attack targeting their positions on the Harib front.

Another attack on the same front on August 10 killed two more Shabwa Defense Forces soldiers and wounded nine others. The Houthis have also carried out missile and drone attacks on the Red Sea port and city of Al-Mokha in recent days.