In brief
A recent missile attack by Houthi forces on a training camp in Shabwa province has claimed more than fifty security recruits and left over two hundred wounded. Local authorities say three ballistic missiles were fired at the al‑Alam camp, a site used to train recruits for Yemen's internal security forces. The head of the Presidential Leadership Council condemned the strike as a criminal attack and pledged a firm response, while the Houthis claim the target was an enemy concentration run by Saudi officers. The incident comes amid a broader escalation of fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi‑backed forces that has intensified in recent weeks.
More than 50 security personnel were killed and more than 200 injured in a Houthi missile strike on a camp in Yemen's central province of Shabwa, local authorities said.
A spokesman for Saudi‑backed Yemeni armed forces described the attack as the launch of three ballistic missiles at al‑Alam camp near Ataq city, a site used to train recruits for Yemen's internal security forces and police.
The head of the Presidential Leadership Council, rashad al‑alimí, condemned the strike as a “criminal attack” and promised a firm response.
The Houthis' military spokesman said the attack targeted “Saudi enemy concentrations”.
The strike is part of Yemen's escalating civil war, with pro‑government forces recently launching a major offensive to retake territory in western Yemen, while the Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Saudi facilities.
Shabwa’s media office said the ballistic missiles struck the Martyr Ahmed al‑Sulaimani Training Centre, where recruits from several provinces were training. 53 were killed and more than 200 injured.
Hospitals in the province were overwhelmed and had to transfer the most seriously wounded to neighboring Hadramout and Aden, where the government is based. Some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Information Minister Moammar al‑Eryani said the attack was a war crime because the training centre was not a military target, and accused the Houthis of attempting to fabricate a false media victory.
In response, the Houthi spokesperson said the missiles targeted a gathering of “Saudi enemy” forces run by Saudi officers.
Saudi authorities did not comment immediately on the incident.
Separately, Houthi‑run media reported a Saudi air strike on a home in Sahar district of Saada that killed at least ten people and injured 23, many of them women and children.
The ongoing conflict has caused an estimated 1,282 deaths across Yemen since 6 August, according to the government health ministry. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has suffered at least 19 deaths in Houthi attacks on its airports since early October.
The war that began in 2014, when the Houthis overthrew the government from the capital, Sanaa, escalated in 2015 after the Saudi‑led coalition intervened. A four‑year ceasefire unraveled in July when the Houthis launched a maritime embargo and attacked Saudi airports and oil facilities.
