Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have captured ‘many’ Saudi troops in border offensive
- Houthis say launched major ground assault near the Saudi border
- Earlier this month, the Houthis claimed an attack on major Saudi oil facilities
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they captured many Saudi soldiers and officers in a large operation near the border between the two countries, shortly after the kingdom agreed to a limited ceasefire with the Iranian-backed group.
If true, the escalation will likely deal a blow to efforts to end a war that’s killed thousands and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
Saudi Arabia mobilised a military coalition in 2015 to back Yemen’s internationally-recognised government against the Shiite rebels.
The Houthis, in a statement carried by the Saba news agency on Saturday, said they destroyed three enemy brigades after “just 72 hours of the operation”.
Thousands of people have been taken prisoners, including “many Saudi commanders, officers and soldiers”.
“Operation ‘Victory from God’ is the largest military one since the brutal aggression began. The enemy suffered heavy losses … and wide swathes of territory were liberated in only a few days,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam tweeted.