Yemeni army says 30 Houthi fighters killed in clashes west of Taiz

ADEN — At least 30 Houthi fighters were killed and more than 60 others wounded in 24 hours of clashes and airstrikes in the Al-Waziyah district west of Taiz, Yemen’s army said on Friday.A military source quoted by the Armed Forces Media Center said Yemeni warplanes also struck Houthi vehicles and gathering points in the clash zone.The source said army forces had neutralized 30 Houthi fighters and wounded more than 60 others during 24 hours of clashes on the fronts of Al-Waziyah district, west of Taiz.The army said earlier that its air force hit Houthi supply lines and deployment points in Taiz and in the Red Sea city of Mocha.Government forces also said they previously repelled Houthi attacks in Taiz and struck the group’s positions and reinforcements. The army has stepped up strikes on Houthi sites in several provinces in recent days, with Taiz among the main fronts.A Yemeni resident in Saudi Arabia was killed, and two others were injured after a Houthi drone was intercepted in the southwestern governorate of Taif on Thursday, according to the Kingdom’s civil defense agency.It is the first death announced in Saudi Arabia this month since Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis intensified their attacks.In Yemen on Thursday, the Houthis said “Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers” in Taiz province.As the fighting intensified, Yemenis took to boats in the Red Sea to escape the spreading war.Houthi-controlled television reported Saudi airstrikes in Hajjah province close to the Saudi border near the Red Sea coast, and the vicinity of Taiz further inland to the south.One civilian was killed in Taiz and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Yemen, said Houthi-linked Almasirah television.Houthi-backed media later reported that three children were killed and several Yemeni nationals were injured in strikes by the government forces.The spread of the ⁠war has raised new concerns about oil supplies by jeopardizing the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained.