Houthi missile strike on Yemen military camp kills at least 20 soldiers

• Houthi missile strikes on a military camp in Yemen kill at least 20 soldiers.

• At least 24 troops are wounded, with new recruits among the casualties.

• The attack comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and government forces.

Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles at a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers and wounding at least two dozen others, Yemeni military officials said.

The attack targeted the al-Alam military camp in Shabwa province. Most of the casualties were reportedly new recruits, according to one military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

Col. Majed al-Nazili, a spokesman for Yemen's military, confirmed that the Houthis had fired three ballistic missiles at a training centre for police and security forces but declined to comment on the casualties.

The Houthi-run SABA news agency said the attack had killed and wounded dozens of people but provided no further details.

The camp, located in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital, Ataq, was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates. It lies along a route to the government-controlled province of Marib and key supply lines for government forces.

One military official said the targeted personnel belonged to a newly established force called Rapid Intervention, tasked with defending the area.

The strike was part of a recent escalation in fighting that began months ago as tensions intensified amid the wider Iran-US conflict. Renewed clashes between the Houthis and forces of Yemen's Saudi-backed government have shattered a 2022 ceasefire that had largely halted fighting in the country's civil war.

Wider regional escalation

The attack followed an airstrike on Sunday that the Houthis blamed on Saudi-led forces in the rebel-held northern province of Saada. At least nine people, including five children and two women, were killed, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The rebels reported several attacks over the weekend that killed or wounded more than 30 people.

Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the reported airstrike.

The Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, citing the kingdom's support for Yemen's government in the civil war. The rebels have increasingly targeted Saudi airports, oil installations and military facilities, disrupting thousands of flights and killing 19 people, according to the report. The headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco has also been struck.

The Houthis have recently seized additional territory along Yemen's Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategically important shipping route.

In response, the Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive this month to dislodge the rebels from the area and retake the territory, according to the report.