Shabwa governor says 58 killed in Houthi strike on Yemen training camp

Shabwa’s governor says 58 people were killed and more than 200 injured when Houthi forces struck a security training camp near Ataq on Monday, amid renewed fighting in Yemen. Awad bin al-Wazir also reported 14 people missing after the attack on al-Alam camp. The Houthis have acknowledged targeting the camp. [4] [3]

Shabwa’s provincial government initially reported 53 recruits killed and more than 200 injured in a preliminary count. It said they were new members of the internal security forces training at the Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani centre on the outskirts of Ataq. The governor’s later figure of 58 updates that count; the fate of the missing remains unclear. [2] [4]

Local authority sources told Reuters that three ballistic missiles hit during a training exercise. Reuters verified video from Shabwa showing injured people and bloodied bodies. A medical source at Shabwa General Hospital told Arabian Sea Newspaper that it had received 20 bodies by midday and treated dozens of wounded — an early figure from one hospital, rather than a total for the attack. [4] [6]

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree described the target as a camp run by Saudi officers and said Saudi officers were among the casualties. AP reported that he gave no evidence for that claim. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment. The provincial authorities, by contrast, described the victims as security recruits. [3] [5] [2]

Shabwa’s deputy governor, Fahad al-Khalifi, told AFP that hospitals were overwhelmed and that the most seriously injured had been transferred to Hadramout and Aden. Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, promised a “firm response”. The strike follows an offensive launched this month by pro-government forces to retake Houthi-held territory in western Yemen, with fighting continuing on several fronts.