After Riyadh Attack, ‘Yemen Dawn’ Operation Targets Houthis
Yemen’s government military says it has killed hundreds of Houthi fighters in targeted operations over the past 24 hours. Yemen continues to launch counter-attacks.
Al Jazeera reported on Sunday (11 October 2026) that Yemeni military spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili said at least 1,150 Houthi members had been killed in nearly 2,000 operations. The campaign is part of the ‘Yemen Dawn’ operation.
He said the army had destroyed Houthi ammunition depots and at least 180 combat, transport and logistics vehicles operated by the group, adding that ground forces were ‘continuing their attacks’.
Al Jazeera has been unable to verify the information independently.
The previous day, an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, killed and injured several people and led to flight cancellations.
Asked whether the United States would join attacks on the Houthis following the incident, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he would ‘make a decision soon’.
Al Jazeera journalist Yousef Mawry, reporting from Yemen on Saturday (10 October), said the Houthis had not claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
However, the Iran-backed group has warned airlines to avoid Saudi Arabian airspace, saying any aircraft operating there — except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — would be targeted.
Mawry said the Houthis were preparing for a war on several fronts, including against international involvement, such as that of Pakistan.
‘The Houthi group says that if Pakistan takes part in any military activity against them in Saudi Arabia’s interests, Pakistan will be treated in the same way as they are currently treating the Saudis,’ Mawry said.
Plans were in place to launch ballistic missiles towards Pakistan and attack Pakistani-flagged ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, he added.
‘The fighting is spreading across several fronts, and the situation will continue to escalate,’ Baraa Shiban, an associate fellow in international security and Yemen expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank, told Al Jazeera. He added that the violence would not ‘subside’ any time soon.
‘There are no mediation efforts under way at present — no regional or local mediator is capable of calming the situation,’ he said.
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces are advancing against the Houthis in an effort to retake territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital trade route for global shipping entering and leaving the Red Sea.
Fighting is now raging around the strategic southern Yemeni towns of Mocha and Dhubab. Both lie on the Red Sea coast and occupy positions important to control of the Bab al-Mandeb.
The Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and parts of north-western Yemen since 2014, captured the area in September and effectively took control of the strait, although both sides claim authority over the shipping route.