Yemen’s Armed Forces say they have thwarted an advance by Saudi-backed militias toward their positions near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, forcing the attackers to retreat after dozens were killed or wounded and a large number of vehicles were destroyed.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Yemeni forces said they had confronted Saudi-backed reinforcements attempting to advance toward their positions close to the strategic strait.

“The gatherings of these mobilizations were targeted with ten ballistic missiles, and the operation of confrontation and targeting led to the killing and wounding of dozens, and the destruction of a large number of vehicles,” the statement read.

Yemen’s Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed that the Yemeni forces had confronted Saudi-backed reinforcements attempting to advance toward southwest of al-Waziyah.

According to remarks carried by Yemen’s Saba news agency, the advancing forces failed to make progress and were forced to withdraw.

Saree said a "number of vehicles and armored vehicles were destroyed during the intense fighting, while dozens were killed or wounded."

He further stated that concentrations of the advancing forces were targeted with ballistic missiles, describing the strikes as precise and direct. The spokesman said that the missile attacks were carried out against reinforcements that had been deployed to support Saudi mercenaries already engaged in the clashes.

The developments are significant because the al-Waziyah area lies near the approaches to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategically important maritime corridor connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Saree earlier said Yemen’s armed forces had maintained full control over all their battlefield gains, dismissing Saudi claims of advances as “imaginary victories” aimed at pleasing their patrons.

Local reports also said that Yemeni armed forces are close to recapturing Dhubab Airport and the Murad area on the Bab el-Mandeb front in southwestern Yemen.

Reports further said that the Yemeni forces have reversed all significant gains previously made by Saudi-backed forces in this region.

Top Saudi-backed commander killed as Yemeni forces make gains in Ta’izz

A high-ranking commander of Saudi-backed mercenary forces has been killed in clashes with advancing Yemeni Armed Forces in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz.

On Monday, Saudi mercenaries claimed to have regained control of the Dhubab district on Yemen’s western coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. They later claimed to have captured the port city of Mocha as well.

However, more than 200 Saudi-backed forces were reportedly killed or wounded in the following hours in dozens of Yemeni strikes targeting their movements in Ras al-Arah and al-Saqiya.

The reported losses among the Saudi mercenaries were described as unprecedented in previous confrontations, both in terms of personnel and military vehicles.

The developments came amid a broader escalation of Saudi military attacks on Yemen. Earlier in the day, the army spokesman said Saudi warplanes had carried out 66 airstrikes and missile attacks over a 24-hour period, targeting civilian sites in the provinces of al-Jawf, Taiz, Ma’rib, Hudaydah, Hajjah and Saada.

The attacks involved F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets as well as armed reconnaissance aircraft operating from Saudi bases in Khamis Mushait, Taif and the King Faisal Naval Base. Missiles were also launched from Jizan and Najran, said Saree.

The attacks left a number of civilians dead and wounded, most of them women and children, he added.

The latest strikes, the spokesperson maintained, bring the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks on Yemen since the escalation began to 1,642.