WorldPosted at: Sep 17 2026 6:45PM


Yemen fighting intensifies in Taiz, Lahj as government forces target Houthi positions

Sanaa, Sep 17 (UNI) Fighting intensified between Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters in Taiz and neighbouring Lahj provinces on Thursday, with government forces carrying out airstrikes on Houthi positions and reporting gains in the strategic Kahbub mountain range near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Fayyad Alnoman, assistant undersecretary at Yemen’s Information Ministry for television affairs, said on X that an airstrike hit Houthi reinforcements at the Al-Dharifah junction in Al-Wazi'iyah district, west of Taiz.
Another strike by the Yemeni air force targeted a Houthi communications centre in Al-Hawban, east of Taiz city, according to field reports cited by Alnoman.
Heavy clashes were reported along the Kahbub mountain range, which lies between Taiz and Lahj and overlooks routes towards Yemen’s western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Government forces said they have repelled Houthi attacks and captured several positions in the mountains before launching a counterattack against areas still under Houthi control.
Military sources said the Houthis had used different types of weapons and deployed a number of combat units in an attempt to advance through the Kahbub range. Government forces said several Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in strikes on their positions, equipment and gatherings. They also said they had shot down a drone over the area, local media reports said.
The National Shield forces separately said they had repelled a Houthi infiltration attempt on the Al-Mudaraba front, with support from the Southern Giants Brigades. The forces said two Houthi fighters were captured and others wounded.
The Kahbub mountains are strategically important because they overlook the Bab al-Mandeb, one of the world's key shipping routes linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The range also overlooks the area around Mayyun island.
Alnoman earlier reported clashes on the Al-Anin and Bilad al-Wafi fronts in Jabal Habashi district, west of Taiz.
Fighting in western Taiz has intensified in recent weeks. On Wednesday, government forces said they had targeted Houthi positions, barracks and personnel on the Al-Kadha front, while other airstrikes hit Houthi positions and gatherings in areas west of Taiz.
The renewed clashes have brought an end to a period of relative calm that had largely held since a UN-brokered truce came into effect in April 2022.
Separately, Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense said a Yemeni resident was killed and two people were injured on Thursday after debris from a Houthi drone fell in Taif after the drone was intercepted and destroyed.
A Saudi citizen and a Pakistani resident were injured, with the Pakistani national in critical condition, the Civil Defense said. The falling debris also damaged several buildings and vehicles.
Yemen has been caught in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
Separately, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen and the Saudi authorities on Wednesday accused each other of sharply escalating their attacks, adding to fears that their recent return to war could further destabilize the Middle East.
The Houthis claimed to have downed a Saudi fighter jet, while Saudi Arabia accused the group of firing a drone near Mecca, the holiest site for Muslims.
A spokesman for the Houthi military, Yahya Saree, said on social media that the group had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Yemeni territory using a locally made missile. The Houthis released footage and photographs late Wednesday of what they said was the crash site.
Saree made the claim hours after Saudi Arabia said that its military had shot down a Houthi drone outside Mecca. The drone was intercepted and destroyed south of Mecca on Tuesday as it headed toward prohibited airspace over the city, Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, said in a statement on social media.
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