Aden, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Fierce fighting between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthi group continued for a third consecutive day across the western provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah on Saturday, as a Houthi ballistic missile strike on a key road killed four people and wounded 10 others, a military official said.
The Houthis targeted the Hayjat al-Abd road in southern Taiz with a ballistic missile while passenger vehicles were travelling along the route, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The attack destroyed a bus and forced the road to temporarily close.
Hayjat al-Abd is a vital mountainous route connecting Taiz with neighbouring Lahj province and government-held areas farther south.
Fighting intensified across several fronts in Taiz and Hodeidah on Saturday, with both sides deploying fresh troops and military vehicles, the official said.
The Houthis have not immediately commented on the reported missile attack or the latest battlefield developments.
The escalation follows government airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Hodeidah and Taiz on Friday, as government forces battled a major Houthi offensive near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
A military official said the warplanes targeted Houthi positions and movements in areas where ground fighting was underway. Details of the strikes and any casualties were not immediately available.
A Houthi military source confirmed the airstrikes but attributed them to “Saudi aggression warplanes”. Saudi Arabia has not commented on the claim.
The latest fighting erupted at dawn on Thursday and has since killed at least 90 people across Taiz and Hodeidah, including 40 government soldiers and at least 50 Houthi fighters, according to medical officials.
Amid the escalation, Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), vowed on Friday that government forces would prevent the Houthis from advancing towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategically important waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
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