Yemen gov't forces launch fresh offensive against Houthis

Sanaa, October 18 (IANS): Fierce fighting erupted near Yemen's strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Sunday as government forces launched a fresh offensive against Houthi positions in the area, a government military official told Xinhua.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said units from the Giants Brigades and Nation Shield Forces advanced from several directions to seize key Houthi-held positions overlooking approaches to the strait.Heavy clashes were raging as Houthi fighters resisted the advance from fortified positions and trenches, the official said, adding that extensive minefields had complicated the government forces' push, Xinhua News Agency reported."The fighting is among the fiercest we have seen in the area," the official said. "The Houthis are heavily entrenched, and our forces are trying to break through their defensive lines."The official said the Houthis also deployed fibre-optic-guided first-person-view kamikaze drones known as "Shawaz" against the advancing government troops.Several people on both sides were killed or wounded in the fighting, the official said, without giving specific figures.The outcome of the offensive remained unclear as clashes continued, with no confirmation of significant territorial gains.The latest push follows previous attempts by government forces to break through Houthi defences in the area. Bab al-Mandeb, separating Yemen from the Horn of Africa, connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a vital passage for international trade.The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Saturday that it had intercepted and destroyed four drones over Riyadh and Saudi Arabia's eastern and southern regions in recent hours, while also destroying two ballistic missile launchers in Yemen's northern Saada province.In a series of posts on social media platform X, coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said coalition forces had intercepted and destroyed four drones in different parts of the kingdom, without providing further details on their exact locations or possible casualties.Al-Maliki also announced that coalition forces destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Yemen's Saada province.The development came amid escalating hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with both sides exchanging attacks and military warnings in recent days.