Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed at least 58 government troops in coordinated missile and drone attacks Thursday, a military source said, marking one of the deadliest days in the country's civil war in the past four years.
The assault came as Yemen became increasingly entangled in the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, with the Houthis intensifying attacks on government forces and neighboring Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally and backer of Yemen's internationally recognized government.
The worsening security situation has also accelerated regional defense cooperation. Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defense agreement in Jeddah on Friday, according to Saudi sources familiar with the matter.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to what he described as a military buildup backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and wounded dozens, according to the military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Medical sources had earlier reported 38 deaths.
A military official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday's attacks on troop camps were Yemen's deadliest since 2022.
Yemen's Defense Ministry said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the attacks "at the appropriate place and time."
The escalation spilled across the border Thursday, with Saudi officials saying Houthi attacks wounded 11 civilians in the southern Najran region.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the wounded included seven Saudis, one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani, according to a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing Yemen's government against the Houthis since 2015.
Al-Malki accused the rebels of carrying out "indiscriminate shelling against civilian objects" and said coalition forces would continue taking measures to protect civilians.
The rebels have stepped up attacks against Saudi Arabia since last month, adding to regional instability after the U.S.-Iran war erupted on Feb. 28.
The military official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that a camp in the Al-Ruwaik area of Marib province in central Yemen was attacked, along with positions in Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah in Hadramawt province near the Saudi border.
One missile struck troops during morning formation at the camp in Marib, "killing and wounding at least 45 personnel," a military source said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Saree named Al-Ruwaik, Al-Thaniyah and Al-Abr among the targeted areas and warned that the rebels were "prepared to confront any escalation."
Yemen, which has been embroiled in more than a decade of war, was drawn deeper into the broader Middle East conflict last month as the Tehran-backed Houthis abandoned a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government.
The rebels received an Iranian aircraft in the capital, Sanaa, triggering retaliatory attacks. They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began targeting Saudi tankers.
Last month, the Houthis killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces south of the port city of Hodeida, two medical officials told AFP.
The Houthis have been fighting the government since 2014 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
The rebels control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, while the government controls much of the south.
The fighting has largely remained frozen since a U.N.-brokered truce took effect in 2022. Although the truce formally expired, both sides have largely observed it.
