By SAMY MAGDY
CAIRO (AP) — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 53 soldiers, provincial authorities in Shabwa said Monday, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting.
The rebels fired three ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded 200 recruits, the Shabwa provincial government said.
The Iran-backed rebels have acknowledged targeting the camp in Shabwa.
Shabwa provincial government said in a statement that the death toll is preliminary, suggesting it may rise. It said the recruits were receiving training to be part of internal security forces.
“This bloody, treacherous attack targeted new recruits in the training and preparation phase and is considered an extremely critical military escalation and a blatant aggression on the security and stability of Shabwa province,” the statement said.
It called on Yemen’s president, the Saudi-led coalition and the government to expedite providing air defense and early warning systems to reinforce Shabwa’s capabilities. It also added that it instructed two public hospitals and other private health facilities in the province to provide care for the wounded and transfer the seriously hurt to specialized units when necessary.
Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, promised a “firm response.” He said the attack reflects the Houthis’ “approach of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they face pressures or their Iranian-backed sabotage plots falter.”
The Houthi-run SABA news agency claimed the rebel attack killed and wounded dozens but did not provide further details.
The camp, which was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates, is located in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital of Ataq. It sits on a route to the government-controlled province of Marib and crucial supply lines for government forces.
One of the military officials said that those targeted were part of a newly established force called Rapid Intervention, which is tasked with defending the area. The missiles struck while recruits were lining up in formation for a training session, the official said.
The attack was part of a recent surge in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-U.S. conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war.
An airstrike on Sunday blamed on Saudi-led forces killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said. It was one of several that killed or wounded more than 30 people over the weekend, according to the rebels.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks because the kingdom has supported Yemen’s government in the civil war.
The rebels have been increasingly targeting Saudi airports and oil and military facilities, disrupting thousands of flights and killing 19 people. The headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco has been struck as well in a blow to the world’s top oil exporter.
The rebels also recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Saudi-led coalition this month launched a major military offensive to dislodge the rebels from that strategic perch and retake the territory.
Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, contributed to this report.