Yemen’s Houthis have released footage depicting what they describe as drone strikes against Saudi-backed government forces in Kahbub and Al-Waziya in southwestern Taiz province. The group identified the weapons as Shawaz attack drones, but the video’s battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.
The release comes amid a government offensive named Dawn of Yemen. The operation began after Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi announced a drive to restore state authority and retake Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa. Government-aligned forces have reported advances around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Dhubab and Al-Waziya, while fighting has continued around the strategic coastal cities of Mocha and Dhubab.
Those figures were military claims and were not independently verified. Earlier in the offensive, government forces said dozens of fighters were killed, wounded or captured in Marib and that troops had taken several mountain positions in Taiz.
The escalation follows a Houthi advance along Yemen’s western coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb, a major shipping chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The conflict began when the Houthis seized Sanaa and other areas in 2014; a UN-brokered truce in 2022 brought a period of relative calm before the latest battles.