Over 200 Houthis killed in drone strikes, clashes in Yemen, military sources say

More than 200 Houthi fighters have been killed over the past 48 hours, most of them in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province, amid fierce clashes and drone strikes, military sources in Sanaa said on Sunday, marking some of the Iran-backed militia’s heaviest losses since the latest round of escalation in Yemen began.

Most of those killed belonged to the Houthis’ so-called al-Samad Brigade, the sources said, adding that large numbers of bodies had arrived at hospitals in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa over the past two days, according to military and medical sources.

Independent Yemeni media outlet Yemen Future, citing the sources, reported that the Houthis had sent fresh reinforcements to the al-Barh front west of Taiz city in an attempt to compensate for their losses and resume their offensive. The reinforcements reportedly included members of the group’s elite forces, commandos and mobilization units.

In another indication that the militia is seeking additional fighters, sources in Sanaa said the Houthis had begun releasing hundreds of prisoners in areas under their control in exchange for joining the fighting.

Around 850 prisoners and detainees have been released from prisons in Saada, Hajjah and Sanaa, including people accused of criminal and drug-related offenses, according to the sources. Preparations are also underway to release around 1,400 additional prisoners in Dhamar province.

The sources said those released were required to sign pledges to join the battlefronts in exchange for having cases against them dropped or their legal status settled. The Houthis also offered some of the prisoners formal recruitment and financial support, while paying off the debts of some inmates imprisoned for their inability to repay them in exchange for joining the fighting.