Death toll in Houthi attack on Yemeni government forces rises to 73: governor

The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government military camp in southern Yemen rose to 73 people, all new recruits, making it the deadliest strike since fighting began escalating three months ago, a senior Yemeni government official said.

Strike on southern Yemen training camp is deadliest since fighting began escalating in July

The Associated Press

· Posted: Oct 20, 2026 8:24 AM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago

Listen to this article

Estimated 5 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government military camp in southern Yemen rose to 73 people, all new recruits, making it the deadliest strike since fighting in the country began escalating three months ago, a senior Yemeni government official said Tuesday.

The recruits were all aged between 18 and 20, and some were still missing a day after the Iranian-aligned rebels hit the al-Alam training camp in the southern province of Shabwa with ballistic missiles, provincial governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir told The Associated Press.

Monday's strike was part of a recent surge of fighting in Yemen, which started when forces from the internationally-recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in the country's civil war.

The Houthis have also fired missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia, which has struggled to counter the Houthi attacks, even with far superior U.S.-supplied arms.

The strike on the al-Alam camp hit while recruits were lining up in formation for a training session. Videos from the area circulated online and analyzed by The Associated Press showed many motionless bodies lying on the sandy ground of the camp.

The strike also wounded more than 200 other recruits, the governor said.

The casualties were new recruits from across Shabwa being trained to provide security in the province and not for combat operations, he said.

"This had nothing to do with front lines," he said. "They had not attacked anyone or advanced against anything. It was only to protect the security of their province."

WATCH | U.S. warned against entering war:

Houthis threaten U.S. if it enters Yemen's war | Hanomansing Live

October 12|

Duration

7:54

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed three Houthi ballistic missiles on Monday, as the main international airport in the kingdom’s capital remained closed following a series of attacks that have killed at least 20 people and wounded hundreds over the past week.

Another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said several suffered serious injuries and were transferred to hospitals in other provinces in life-threatening condition. He said at least 15 of the recruits killed were from a single Yemeni tribe.

The Shabwa provincial government said in a statement Monday that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles on the camp. The Houthis claimed the attack, saying they had killed and wounded dozens but did not provide further details.

People wait at a gas station to fill up cooking gas cylinders in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, on Monday. (Anees Mahyoub/Reuters)

Strategic area

The camp, which was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates, is located in the Jardan district, north of the provincial capital of Ataq. It sits on a crucial supply line connecting to the government-controlled province of Marib.

Shabwa and Marib, along with neighbouring Hadramawt province, contain what has been dubbed the Yemeni government's "triangle of power," a strategic area in which the country's oil and gas production is located.

On Tuesday, authorities in Saudi Arabia issued an attack warning for the capital area in the late morning followed by the sound of an explosion in northern Riyadh where the King Khalid International Airport is located. The airport has come under repeated Houthi attacks this month, forcing the facility to suspend its operations.

The all-clear was given a short time later and Saudi Arabia said a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis had been intercepted.

Yemen first plunged into civil war in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in an attempt to restore the government to power. The conflict created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and killed more than 150,000 people.

WATCH | Houthis strike Saudi airport:

Houthis strike Saudi Arabia airport for the second time

October 11|

Duration

2:43

Saudi Arabia's Riyadh international airport was hit again by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen — a day after a strike in the same terminal left at least 12 people dead and more than 300 ‌wounded, according to Saudi authorities.

Meanwhile, the U.K. announced Tuesday that it is expanding military support for Saudi Arabia against the Houthis to include "defensive" air patrols by Royal Air Force jets, but stressed there is no military solution to the conflict.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said British Typhoon jets will "conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure" from missiles and drones fired by the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

He said the British planes won't strike Houthi targets.

• Yemen's Houthis attack presidential palace in Aden, key Saudi infrastructure

• Saudi-led coalition vows retaliation after deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport

• Britain to give limited military support to Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi rebels

The U.K. will also send a military transport plane and an unspecified number of military advisers to Saudi Arabia, Streeting said.

The announcement follows Britain's decision last month to offer in-air refuelling of Saudi planes operating against the Houthis. That mission is being extended by another 90 days, Streeting said.

The defence secretary said in a written statement to Parliament that "the government remains clear that there is no long-term military solution to the conflict in Yemen," however. "We continue to support a UN-led political process as the best route to a durable peace," he said.