Aden (South24 Center)

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Southern Forces repelled Houthi attacks and infiltration attempts along the Lahj-Taiz front from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, while missile strikes on Ras Al-Arah killed five soldiers and wounded 17 people, military and medical sources told South24 Center.

Military sources said the Houthis attacked the Al-Mansoura, Naman and Aqabat Al-Mansoura fronts near the boundary between Taiz’s Al-Wazi’iyah District and Lahj’s Al-Mudaribah wa Ras Al-Arah District after deploying more than 50 military vehicles toward nearby front lines.

The sources said Southern Forces, backed by Al-Subaihi tribesmen, repelled the attack and captured two Houthi fighters.

In Ras Al-Arah, the Houthis fired about eight ballistic missiles at sites including assembly points used by National Resistance forces, according to a military source. A medical source said five soldiers were killed and 17 people wounded, including a civilian and a child.

Fighting also continued on the Kahboub front near Bab el-Mandeb, where the Southern Giants Brigades said they had inflicted casualties on the Houthis and destroyed military equipment. South24 sources said two Southern Forces soldiers were killed in clashes there.

Clashes were also reported on the Maris fronts in northern Al-Dhalea, while a Houthi drone strike on Shabwah Defense Forces positions south of Marib killed one soldier and wounded three others.

A military source said the Houthis also launched three missiles from the Al-Rahadah area in Taiz toward Bab el-Mandeb.

The fighting follows a rapid Houthi advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The group has seized Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and islands inside Bab el-Mandeb, while the latest fighting has displaced more than 100,000 people.

The escalation has coincided with renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The group said it targeted Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait with missiles and drones.

The Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib, as well as a Wing Loong 2 reconnaissance drone. Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed the loss of the fighter jet, and South24 Center could not independently verify the claims.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said its air defenses intercepted a Houthi drone south of Makkah, while the Houthis denied targeting the city.

The latest escalation has raised international concern over Bab el-Mandeb. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on September 15 that the Houthi advance could “choke” the strategic waterway, while the United Nations said commercial shipping through the Red Sea remained unaffected at that time.