SHABWA: At least 53 security personnel have been killed and more than 200 others injured after Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile attack on a military training camp in Yemen’s southern province of Shabwa.
According to officials and military sources, the attack took place on Monday when three ballistic missiles struck the Al-Alam camp, also known as the Martyr Ahmed Al Sulaymani Training Centre, in the Al-Alam area of Shabwa.
The camp was hosting a training exercise for new recruits of the provincial internal security forces at the time of the attack. The recruits were gathered in an open ground when the missiles hit, causing massive casualties.
Local authorities in Shabwa said the death toll rose dramatically through the day. Initial reports said 18 were killed and 30 wounded, but later the provincial authority confirmed 53 dead and over 200 injured. Medical sources said many of the wounded are in critical condition and the death toll may rise further.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. Their military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement on X that they targeted what they called Saudi enemy concentrations at the camp, claiming the facility was managed by Saudi officers and that Saudi officers were among the casualties.
This is the deadliest single attack in Yemen in recent weeks. It comes as fighting has intensified across the country after the collapse of a 2022 ceasefire earlier this year. Shabwa is an energy-rich province in south-central Yemen, overlooking the Gulf of Aden.
It is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas facility, Yemen’s largest industrial project. The Shabwa local authority has called for urgent measures to prevent further attacks and urged Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the Yemeni government, and the Saudi-led coalition to provide air defence systems and early-warning capabilities.
Head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al Alimi, condemned the attack, saying the targeting of new recruits reflects the Houthis’ practice of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks when under pressure.
The Houthis and the internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been trading attacks since the group advanced in September towards territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.
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