Yemeni armed forces have liberated several strategic areas which overlook the Bab al-Mandeb Strait from the control of Saudi-backed forces.
Yemen’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that the country’s armed forces conducted a large-scale operation from two axes against positions of Saudi-backed forces in Kahboub mountains in southwestern Ta’izz Province.
The Yemeni forces, catching the Saudi militants off guard, succeeded in penetrating their trenches and fortifications in the region, noted the ministry.
During the operation, the ministry said the Yemeni forces took control of several areas overlooking other positions of Saudi-backed militants.
The purged areas included an area that served as the base for four brigades of the "al-Amaliqa" (Giants) militants, which Saudi Arabia had deployed to the region under the command of Badr al-Harbi, one of its own officers, added the ministry.
Stressing the strategic importance of the range, the ministry said these heights overlook the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and vast areas within Dhubab District in Ta’izz and al-Madaribah District in Lahij province.
According to the statement, an unspecified number of militants were killed during the operation, while several were captured
Yemeni forces also seized a variety of military equipment during the operation.
According to the statement, Saudi fighter jets bombed positions of Saudi-backed forces while they were withdrawing from the mountainous areas of Kahboub, killing a large number of them.
The latest developments come amid renewed escalation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The latest escalation began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sana’a international airport in July. The Yemeni armed forces responded by enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy and declaring an embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
In recent months, the Yemeni military has announced several successful naval operations targeting ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, enforcing the blockade and impacting Riyadh's energy exports.
The Yemeni forces have also carried out retaliatory attacks on targets deep inside the kingdom, and made a lightning advance across Yemen’s coastal plain in September, reinforcing control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Yemenis had warned airlines last month against using the Saudi airspace, saying only the airspace over Islam's holy cities of Mecca and Medina is safe.
The conflict traces back to March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and a US-backed coalition launched a sweeping military campaign and blockade aimed at reinstalling a favorable regime in Sana'a.
Despite years of bombardment and the deployment of advanced Western weaponry, the Saudi coalition has failed to achieve its stated objectives.
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