October 18, 2026
Taiz Governorate is witnessing a large-scale field escalation, including fierce battles and intense air strikes on several fronts, at a time when the Yemeni army announced the seizure of a Houthi cell specialized in directing drones in conjunction with thwarting the group’s military attacks and build-ups.
In details, the 35th Armored Brigade confirmed on Friday that its forces were able to arrest a Houthi team specialized in controlling drones, on the Al-Aqroud front in the Kahlan region, southeast of Taiz, as part of operations aimed at enhancing combat readiness and undermining the group’s activities, without revealing the number of the team’s members or their identities.
At the field level, government forces and the Popular Resistance reported that they had thwarted a Houthi attack targeting military sites in Jabal Dahih on the Al-Aqroud Front, following an infiltration attempt through several routes, indicating the outbreak of a second attack launched by the group on the same mountain since the morning hours amid continuing clashes.
On the Al Shaqab front, south of the city of Taiz, government forces succeeded in repelling a large-scale attack following violent confrontations that lasted about eight hours, resulting in the killing of 16 Houthi fighters and the injury of others.
In parallel with ground operations, the armed forces carried out a series of air strikes targeting Houthi sites and gatherings in various Taiz areas. Three raids targeted sites at Al-Hanjar point, Tibeti Al-Maqababa, and Al-Kamil in the Al-Dhabab area, west of the city, while other raids targeted military concentrations, weapons, and equipment east of the Al-Shaqab front, in addition to destroying a Houthi tank in an air strike that targeted Ghurab School, northwest of Taiz.
These field developments in Sokhna come in light of the continuation of military operations within the “Yemen Dawn” operation, amid the escalation of the intensity of confrontations and the multiplicity of fighting fronts throughout the governorate.
