Houthis bomb Yemen’s Mokha port near Bab al-Mandeb Strait

The agency said several missiles struck residential neighborhoods in the port city in the Taiz province, without providing further details on casualties.

Deputy Information Minister Fayyad Alnoman confirmed the attack, saying Yemeni air defenses had engaged the projectiles over the city.

Alnoman said the attack caused extensive damage to buildings, the port's pier, commercial goods and food supplies.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said his group carried out what he called a “large-scale and high-quality military operation” targeting "Saudi military concentrations and weapons depots in the Mokha area."

Saree said the attack involved ballistic missiles and drones, claiming that the strikes caused extensive damage to military equipment and weapons and killed and wounded dozens.

One of Yemen’s major seaports, Mokha is located near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The port is controlled by Yemeni government forces.

Fighting has periodically intensified along several Yemeni fronts since last month, leaving dozens of people dead and wounded on both sides.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Yemen had been under a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who seized control of the capital Sanaa and large parts of the country in 2014.