Houthi Yemen attack kills over 50 at army camp

More than 50 people were killed and over 200 wounded when Yemen's Houthis launched a ballistic missile strike on a military camp in the energy-rich province of Shabwa on Monday, officials and military sources said. The Houthi Yemen attack hit the al-Alam camp, where new security forces recruits were training, and was described as the deadliest strike in weeks as fighting escalates following the collapse of a yearslong truce.

"More than 53 recruits" were killed and over 200 injured, all security forces recruits undergoing training, Shabwa authorities said in a statement. Two military sources said three ballistic missiles struck al-Alam camp, while Majed al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, described the site as a training centre for security and police recruits. Officials called it the deadliest Houthi Yemen attack on Yemeni government forces in weeks.

Fahad al-Khalifi, the deputy governor of Shabwa, said hospitals in the province were overwhelmed and had been forced to transfer the most seriously wounded to neighbouring Hadramout and Aden. "Some of them (are) in critical condition," he said. The Shabwa military camp sits in a province holding major oil and gas fields and home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas terminal, the country's largest energy facility and a key economic asset.

Houthi Yemen attack raises fears of a ground offensive

A government military source in the province said the army feared the ballistic missile strike on the Shabwa military camp could pave the way for a ground offensive "similar to what happened in Mokha", the strategic Red Sea port city seized by the Houthis last month. The source, who requested anonymity, said the Houthis had cut a road linking Shabwa with Houthi-controlled Al-Bayda province on Sunday, a day before the Houthi Yemen attack.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the Houthi Yemen attack through their Saba news agency, which quoted a military source as saying the group had targeted "Saudi enemy gatherings" at al-Alam camp, causing dozens of deaths and injuries.

Houthi Yemen attack follows collapse of the 2022 truce

The strike marks a sharp escalation since a fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government fell apart in July, after the group allowed an Iranian plane to land in Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace. The Iran-backed Houthis then declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before routing Yemeni government forces from positions along the Red Sea coastline in a lightning campaign last month.

Earlier this month, Yemen's government launched a counter-offensive to retake territory on the Red Sea coastline seized by the Houthis in September. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia itself have also reached an unprecedented scale: the group has carried out multiple strikes on Riyadh airport, including an attack this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade. The dead at al-Alam were security forces recruits, officials said.

What the Houthi Yemen attack means for the region

For India and other energy importers, the fighting around Shabwa carries economic stakes: the province's oil and gas fields and the Balhaf LNG terminal sit close to the battle lines, and any prolonged disruption could ripple through regional energy markets. The Houthi Yemen attack also underscores how the conflict has internationalised, with Red Sea shipping and Saudi cities now firmly in the group's sights.

With hospitals in Shabwa overwhelmed, the deputy governor's warning that some of the wounded remain in critical condition suggests the death toll from the Houthi Yemen attack could still rise. The ballistic missile strike has hardened positions on both sides, and officials describe the coming weeks as decisive for control of Yemen's east and its Red Sea coastline.