In a major escalation, a top Yemeni military commander was killed in a deadly drone strike carried out by Houthi rebels. The attack took place in the northern province of Marib, a region that has been a flashpoint in the ongoing Yemen conflict.
The victim was identified as Khaled bin Dowaid Muthanna, the chief of staff for the southern front in Marib. According to military sources, the strike hit a government forces site in the Al-Falihah area on Saturday. Muthanna was killed along with several of his escorts, while others were injured in the surprise attack.
What makes this incident particularly alarming is that it occurred in an area where there were no active clashes at the time, signaling a dangerous new tactic.
This deadly drone strike comes just a day after fierce fighting broke out between Yemen government forces and Houthi fighters near the strategic Harib district. That confrontation resulted in multiple casualties on both sides.
In a separate incident in the northern province of Taiz, Yemeni government forces reported killing four Houthi fighters. The government-run “September 26” news website stated that the clash occurred as troops repelled an attempted Houthi infiltration.
The Houthi group has not yet issued any statement or claimed responsibility for these attacks.
Yemen has been gripped by a fragile ceasefire since a UN-brokered truce collapsed at the end of 2022. The two sides have repeatedly failed to agree on renewing the peace deal. The conflict, which began in 2014, has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing hundreds of thousands and pushing millions to the brink of famine.
The Yemeni government has condemned the drone strike and vowed a decisive response. They have already sent reinforcements to the Marib area and intensified aerial surveillance.
Marib province remains a critical battleground, not only for its vital oil infrastructure but also because it hosts a huge population of civilians displaced by the war.
