Key facts
- Yemen's internationally recognized government launched artillery and drone attacks against Houthi forces.
- The government claimed to have killed and wounded dozens of Houthis over the weekend.
- Houthi forces claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on Yemeni military camps, resulting in significant casualties.
- The US embassy in Yemen condemned the Houthi attacks as terrorism.
- A Saudi-led coalition reported a Houthi attack on Najran injured 11 civilians.
Yemen's internationally recognized government announced on August 17, 2026, that it had launched artillery attacks against the Houthi group in the northern al-Jawf Governorate. The Saudi-backed forces also reported carrying out drone attacks on Houthi fighters in Marib and claimed to have killed and wounded dozens of Houthis in 181 operations across several governorates over the weekend.
These actions were framed as a response to recent Houthi attacks. Earlier, Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for missile attacks on Yemeni military camps in Hadramout and Marib, stating they killed at least 30 government soldiers and injured 15 others. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the attacks, using missiles and drones, resulted in "hundreds" of casualties. Yemeni military sources indicated that the Houthis fired eight missiles from al-Jawf governorate, targeting locations in Hadramout and Marib, with casualty numbers expected to rise.
The US embassy in Yemen described the Houthi attacks as "cowardly" and "terrorism." Separately, the Saudi-led coalition reported that a Houthi attack on the Saudi city of Najran injured 11 civilians, including a woman and a child, which the coalition called a violation of international humanitarian law. The Houthis had previously announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and have attacked ships linked to the country. Fighting in Yemen has intensified in recent weeks after a period of relative calm.