Houthis target Yemen’s Mokha port with missiles, drones, killing eight

The Houthi militia has targeted Mokha port in western Yemen with missiles and drones, Yemeni military sources said on Sunday, marking a new escalation in the country by the Iran-backed group.

Director of the Mokha port said that port workers have been wounded in the Houthi attack on the facility.

The sources said that at least four explosions rocked the city of Mokha, coinciding with the attack on the port.

At least eight people were killed and 26 others wounded in Houthi strikes, according to an initial toll from Yemeni medical sources. The Iran-backed Houthi militia fired 30 ballistic missiles at civilian targets in Mokha.

Yemeni army air defenses shot down at least 15 Houthi drones over the city.

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said the attack showed the Houthis’ “systematic war” on Yemen’s resources, accusing the militia of targeting vital infrastructure on which Yemenis depend.

More than 20 drone attacks

According to an Al Arabiya correspondent more than 20 Houthi drone attacks targeted the port, adding that a training center was also targeted by a Houthi missile.

The correspondent also said the Houthi missile strikes on Mokha were launched from the areas of al-Hawban and Maqbanah, noting that Houthi drones continue to fly over Mokha after army air defenses shot down several of them.

The Houthi’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the militia had carried out a military operation targeting concentrations and weapons depots in the Mokha area.

Mokha port holds a strategic importance due to its location on Yemen’s western coast and its proximity to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime routes.

The port had previously come under Houthi attacks, including a September 2021 attack involving a ballistic missile and five drones, according to the Yemeni government. The attack damaged operational facilities and food warehouses.