What's brewing in Mocha? Houthis deny losses, claim Riyadh airport attack

Yemen's Houthis claimed an attack on the Saudi capital's main airport and on Tuesday denied being pushed back by government forces, who have launched a major operation to recapture lost territory.

The Houthi statements come as Yemen's military said it had removed the pro-Iran group from areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a Red Sea chokepoint, and the port city of Mocha.

Fighting across Yemen has killed more than 270 government troops and Iran-backed Houthi fighters over the past day, sources on both sides told AFP on Tuesday.


Government sources told AFP on condition of anonymity that 115 troops had died over the past 24 hours, and that dozens of others were wounded in fighting, and by Houthi missile and drone attacks.

Houthi military sources meanwhile told AFP that they had lost 160 fighters over the past day, mainly in Saudi strikes on areas under their control.

The focus of the violence is on southwest Yemen, around the Bab al-Mandab strait that is crucial to global energy flows.

Claims by both sides in Yemen have been impossible to independently verify, with the situation on the ground moving fast and access for journalists difficult.

After a four-year ceasefire, Yemen's long-running conflict has reignited during the Middle East war, which has roiled world energy markets and snarled trade routes.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group still held all territory seized last month when they swept through coastal areas along the Red Sea oil-and-cargo route.

On Monday, the Houthis said they had struck Riyadh airport and a refinery belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco. Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport is facing frequent temporary closures of its airspace, according to tracking website Flightradar24.

On Tuesday, Saudi's civil aviation authority said at least three people were wounded in attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemen border a day earlier.

Saudi Arabia, the main backer of the Yemeni government, has been providing air support for the counter-offensive launched by government forces.

'Mocha is a war zone'

Government forces claimed late Monday that they had achieved "victories on several fronts". But military sources with the government refrained from confirming Mocha's recapture, only saying they had cut the one supply route to the area.

They also said they expelled the Houthis from several areas in Taiz in the southwest, where fighting has surged in recent days.

Mohammed, a 33-year-old charity worker who fled from Mocha to Aden, said, "Life in Mocha has come to a complete standstill - there is no movement at all. The city has become a war zone," he said.