Houthis Report Missile Strikes on Coalition Forces Near Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The Houthi movement has reported carrying out missile strikes on coalition forces near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, with a military spokesman saying the attacks killed or wounded dozens of people, according to TASS.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the strikes also destroyed a number of pieces of military equipment and affected commanders among the opposing forces, though the statement did not specify the exact number of casualties or identify by name the units or nationalities of forces targeted.

The claims have not been independently verified, and forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized government, which the Houthis have been fighting for years, have not issued an immediate public response confirming or disputing the reported strikes.

The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern Yemen, has periodically targeted coalition-aligned forces and, at various points in the broader regional conflict, shipping in the Red Sea and nearby waters, citing solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Gaza war as one motivation for some of its maritime attacks in recent years.

The Bab el-Mandeb strait remains a flashpoint given its strategic importance to global shipping routes between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Reports of strikes and counter-strikes in the area have continued intermittently as Yemen's broader conflict persists alongside regional tensions connected to the wider Middle East situation.

Casualty figures and damage claims from the Yemeni conflict's various factions are often difficult to confirm independently due to limited access for outside observers to front-line areas.