A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government on the frontline facing Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province. AFP
A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government on the frontline facing Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province. AFP
A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government on the frontline facing Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province. AFP
A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government on the frontline facing Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province. AFP

Yemen's Houthis hit with waves of coalition air strikes


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Aircraft from the Arab Coalition have launched a fresh wave of strikes on Houthi militias in Yemen.

On Wednesday evening, 11 military vehicles were struck, killing “at least 90 terrorists”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Recent air strikes were aimed at eliminating launch sites for the terrorist group's weapons.

It comes after days of increased drone and missile attacks by the rebels as fighting rages in several key front lines in the long-summering Yemen war.

The Arab Coalition has increased air operations in recent weeks, helping to repel a major Houthi offensive that was launched last spring around Marib east of the capital and Shabwa in the south.

Houthi supply lines are under pressure after the vital governorate of Shabwa was liberated by forces loyal to the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

The militias also suffered setbacks in the northern government stronghold of Marib, where their fighters have been drawn into a war of attrition, losing large numbers of militiamen to air strikes in the open terrain.

  • Yemeni army reinforcements arrive to join fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi Arabia-backed government, on the southern front of Marib. AFP
    Yemeni army reinforcements arrive to join fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi Arabia-backed government, on the southern front of Marib. AFP
  • Outside Marib, a government stronghold in northern Yemen, joint forces have made advances in the provinces of Taez. AFP
    Outside Marib, a government stronghold in northern Yemen, joint forces have made advances in the provinces of Taez. AFP
  • A Yemeni pro-government fighter is pictured during fighting with Houthi rebels. AFP
    A Yemeni pro-government fighter is pictured during fighting with Houthi rebels. AFP
  • Yemeni pro-government forces. AFP
    Yemeni pro-government forces. AFP
  • Hundreds of Houthi fighters have been killed as fierce fighting continues for a second week near Yemen's west coast. AFP
    Hundreds of Houthi fighters have been killed as fierce fighting continues for a second week near Yemen's west coast. AFP
  • Coalition forces continued the progress and took control of areas in the provinces of Ibb and Taez. AFP
    Coalition forces continued the progress and took control of areas in the provinces of Ibb and Taez. AFP
  • Marib, a region that hosts more than two million internally displaced people, was until recently the main focal point of the war. But focus has now moved to the west, where about 200 Houthi fighters were killed in a second week of confrontations in Hays, Al Jarahi, Maqbanah and Jabal Ras. AFP
    Marib, a region that hosts more than two million internally displaced people, was until recently the main focal point of the war. But focus has now moved to the west, where about 200 Houthi fighters were killed in a second week of confrontations in Hays, Al Jarahi, Maqbanah and Jabal Ras. AFP
  • Saudi Arabia is backing the pro-government fighters. AFP
    Saudi Arabia is backing the pro-government fighters. AFP
  • A Houthi fighter fires a weapon at a front line in the Al Jubah district of Yemen's Marib province. Reuters
    A Houthi fighter fires a weapon at a front line in the Al Jubah district of Yemen's Marib province. Reuters
  • A Houthi fighter with an amputated right arm takes position, in a frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi media centre. Reuters
    A Houthi fighter with an amputated right arm takes position, in a frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi media centre. Reuters
  • Houthi fighters in the Al Jubah district of Yemen's Marib province, in another frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi media centre. Reuters
    Houthi fighters in the Al Jubah district of Yemen's Marib province, in another frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi media centre. Reuters

The coalition strikes come also follow a series of Houthi drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 at the request of the internationally recognised government to recapture the capital after a Houthi coup sparked the war that has caused what the UN describe as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

Updated: January 19, 2022, 3:33 PM