Houthi attacks kill 58 Yemeni troops, source says

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 Saudi-backed government troops and injured dozens in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source told AFP.

Medical sources had earlier put the death toll at 38. A military official told AFP the attacks on troop camps were the worst in Yemen since 2022.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to what he described as a military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

A military official said a camp in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province in central Yemen was attacked, along with camps in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt near the Saudi border. Another military source said one missile hit troops during morning formation at the Marib camp, killing and wounding at least 45 personnel.

Saree named Al-Ruwaik, al-Thaniyah and al-Abr among the areas hit and said the Houthis were prepared to confront any escalation.

The defence ministry of Yemen's internationally recognised government said its armed forces would respond to the attacks "at the appropriate place and time".

Yemen's war had largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022, though the truce had expired. The Houthis have fought the internationally recognised government since 2014, control the capital Sanaa and much of the populous north, while the government holds much of the south.