Houthis resume ballistic missile attacks on Yemen’s Mocha port

The Houthi militia resumed missile attacks on the western Yemeni city of Mocha on Wednesday evening, August 26, with explosions reported in the area, Al-Arabiya correspondent reported.

The Houthis launched four ballistic missiles from areas under their control in Jabal Oman, east of Taiz city, according to a military source. Three missiles struck the port of Mocha, while the fourth landed inside the nearby city of Khokha.

The attack was described as part of the Houthis’ repeated targeting of Mocha port and other civilian facilities in the western coastal districts of Taiz governorate.

Tariq Saleh, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said forces along the western coast had absorbed a recent Houthi assault involving ballistic missiles and drones. According to Saleh, that attack included the launch of 57 ballistic missiles and dozens of booby-trapped drones.

Saleh said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s project posed a threat to Yemen and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, describing Yemen as the first line of defence against it. He also pointed to what he called escalating Houthi threats to maritime routes, infrastructure and civilian sites.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Mocha and its strategic port on the Red Sea coast. The facility has come under intensive ballistic-missile and drone attacks in recent weeks, causing deaths and injuries and extensive damage to its infrastructure.

Repeated Houthi attacks have brought activity at the strategic port of Mocha to a halt, according to the report, causing widespread destruction and material losses estimated at about $16 million.

By Tamilla Hasanova