Senior Houthi commander among seven killed in clashes near Bab Al-Mandab

ADEN — Seven Houthi members, including a senior commander, were killed in clashes with Yemeni government forces near the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a Yemeni government official said Saturday.

Deputy Information Minister Abdulbasit Al-Qaedi said Houthi commander Firaq Mohsen Al-Assar and six of his aides were killed on the Kahboub front in southwestern Yemen.

Activists close to the group mourned Al-Assar without providing details about the circumstances of his death.

The Kahboub front, which includes mountainous positions overlooking Bab Al-Mandab, has witnessed fierce clashes between government forces and the Houthis in recent days.

The fighting comes amid a sharp escalation across Yemen after years of relative calm, with government forces and the Houthis battling on several fronts, including in Marib, Al-Jawf, Taiz, Lahj and Al-Bayda.

The renewed hostilities have also intensified around Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the strategically important Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.