Yemeni forces of ousted President Mansour Hadi supported by a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia have seized several strategic ports along the Red Sea held by Houthi rebels allied with Iran in a new offensive.
The goal of the offensive is the capture of the port city of Hodeidah or Al-Hudaydah, the largest port city and the fourth largest city in Yemen. Hodeidah is also the site of the Hodeidah International Airport.
The offensive along Yemen's cost bordering the Red Sea is meant to deny Houthis locations from which they can launch missile and suicide boat attacks against warships of the Saudi-led coalition and the U.S. Navy. On Jan. 30, the Houthis badly damaged the RSN Al Madinah (F702), a guided missile frigate of the Royal Saudi Navy, using a remote controlled suicide boat.
The Houthis apparently launched and controlled this suicide boat from Hodeidah.
Yemeni forces allied with Saudi Arabia recently broadcast video of their fighters cheering after taking the key Red Sea port of al-Mukha, also known as Mocha, to the south of Hodeidah. Yemen's capital of Sana'a in the interior remains under the control of Houthi rebels, however.
Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies described the capture of al-Mukha as their biggest military victory over the Houthis in months.
Yemeni government forces under the cover of heavy airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition fighter jets last week attacked al-Mukha in Taiz province, forcing the Houthis to flee to the rugged mountains or retreat to Hodeida province.
Houthi rebels that fled al-Mukha hid in dense farms in the town of Khokha, and planted landmines to obstruct Saudi-Yemeni government forces, said Brig. Gen. Abdo Abdullah Majili, Yemeni army spokesperson.
"The militia that left al-Mukha are hiding in Khokha, Yakhtel and Abo Zuhrah in Hodeida. They deploy their snipers inside the thick palm trees farms and plant landmines." said Gen. Majili.