Riyadh: The Arab coalition in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, on Sunday announced that 138 Houthi militants had been killed in the coalition airstrikes within 24 hours in Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The coalition said in a statement that it carried out 29 operations targeting militia vehicles and elements in Al-Jubah and Al-Kasara in the area of Ma’rib, during the past 24 hours, which led to the destruction of 17 military vehicles and casualties of more than 138 Houthis.
Between November 6 and November 7, 295 Houthis were killed and 31 military vehicles have been destroyed in the coalition airstrike.
The coalition, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government, has reported near-daily strikes over the past month against the Iran-backed Houthis, each time incurring significant losses.
More than 2,000 Houthis have been killed in the Saudi-led airstrikes in conflict-ridden Yemen since October 11, 2021.
On Sunday, October 31, 2021, the Houthis took control of the important Ya’arah area in the Al-Jubah district, south of Ma’rib Governorate.
Who are Yemen’s Houthis?
The Houthis are Zaydi Shias or Zaydiyyah. Shia Muslims are the minority community in the Islamic world and Zaydis are a minority of Shias, significantly different in doctrine and beliefs from the Shias who dominate in Iran, Iraq, and elsewhere (often called Twelvers for their belief in twelve Imams).
The Houthi group was founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Zaidi Shia minority. Yemeni soldiers killed Hussein in 2004, and the group is now led by his brother Abdul Malik.
Recent conflicts
Battles between the Houthis and the Yemeni government have taken place on and off since 2004, but most of the fighting has been confined to the Houthi stronghold, the impoverished Saada Governorate in northern Yemen.
The conflict in Yemen is between the government, backed by the Saudi-led military coalition since 2015, and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have controlled large areas in the north and west of the country, as well as the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.