Yemeni forces strike Houthi positions in Mocha, Taiz

Trucks carrying weapons, ammunition and missiles were traveling from Mocha to Houthi-held Sanaa, says military Fighting continues on fronts in Marib, Al-Bayda and Al-Dhale provinces Trump says Iran likely behind attack on Saudi pipeline US president says Houthi have asked Washington not to intervene Iran war could end very soon. ADEN/ DUBLIN - Yemeni government forces said Saturday they carried out drone and airstrikes against Houthi positions and weapons convoys in Al-Dhale and Taiz provinces as fighting intensified across several fronts. Coalition partners hold key talks amid differences over new provinces The Nation's Shield Forces said they conducted 'precision strikes' using drones against Houthi positions in the southwestern province of Al-Dhale. The force released video footage showing an aerial attack on a gathering of dozens of Houthi fighters. Separately, Yemeni warplanes struck dozens of trucks allegedly carrying weapons, ammunition and missiles in Taiz province on Saturday, according to the army. The Taiz Military Axis said the trucks were traveling from the Houthi-held coastal city of Mocha toward Sanaa when they were targeted on 60th Street north of Taiz. CM Bugti says Balochistan fight will go on until the last terrorist is gone 'Warplanes targeted dozens of Houthi heavy transport trucks loaded with weapons, ammunition, missiles and military equipment,' the military command said. The attacks come amid a sharp escalation between government forces and the Houthis since early July, reshaping territorial control after years of relative calm. The Houthis say they now control the entire western province of Al-Hudaydah after advancing through western Taiz and capturing Mokha and its Red Sea port. Their advance has brought them closer to the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a strategic maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. KP CM involved in attack on Radio Pakistan, police tell ATC Government forces, meanwhile, have made gains in the northern province of Al-Jawf along the Saudi border and advanced toward the provincial capital, Al-Hazm. Fighting is also continuing on fronts in Marib, Al-Bayda and Al-Dhale provinces. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was probably responsible for an aerial attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West Pipeline, one of the kingdom's main routes for exporting crude while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. 'I think they are, probably they are,' Trump told reporters in Dublin when asked if Iran was responsible for the attack on the vital oil conduit. The US president also said he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he described as a 'good friend.' President Zardari bore all expenses of his private foreign visit The Saudi foreign ministry blamed the attack on several drones from Iraq that it said 'caused human injuries and damage.' In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the kingdom said it would not respond to give the Iraqi government 'an opportunity to take the necessary measures.' But it also stressed that Saudi Arabia 'reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, its security, its facilities,' and its inhabitants. Also Trump said that the war with Iran could end 'very soon,' while accusing Tehran of seeking to prolong the conflict to influence elections. Speaking after a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Ireland, Trump said he expected the conflict to end shortly but reiterated that the United States would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. 'I think very soon,' Trump said when asked when the war would end. 'I think it'll be probably right after election times.' Trump accused Iran of trying to 'hold out as long as they can to complicate the election,' without elaborating. 'Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple,' he said. The president also addressed Gaza, rejecting accusations that Washington was facilitating genocide or Israel's occupation of the West Bank. 'When you say Gaza, you know we put out the fire and we get all the hostages,' Trump said, referring to US efforts to secure the release and recovery of hostages held in Gaza. The Iraqi government condemned the assault, with the prime minister's office announcing the dismissal of a military commander after investigations confirmed the attack originated from Iraq. Two Iraqi sources later told Reuters that Iraq ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure, adding that a wide-scale operation was underway to pursue the perpetrators of the attack. Trump added that Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi fighters, who have seized a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia, have asked Washington not to intervene. Following a week-long offensive, the Houthis on Friday captured Yemen's Red Sea coast after taking three strategic islands in a lightning offensive, cementing their hold on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi Arabian oil exports as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the US-Iran war. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has relied on the area ever since Iran's Hormuz blockade choked off its shipments via the Gulf. 'The Houthis called us, and they don't want to fight with us,' Trump told reporters. 'They don't want us to go after them.' He added that 'everything's gonna work out fine and dandy' in the region. According to US outlet Axios, bin Salman called Trump twice on Thursday to request US strikes on the Houthis, but the American president declined. The Houthis also targeted Saudi Arabian oil facilities this week with a massive drone and missile attack. 'They would much prefer not having us involved, and they're letting most ships go through. There's just one country that they're not too happy with, and we'll get that straightened out,' Trump said. Yemen's Riyadh-backed government forces said on Saturday they had struck Houthi fighters in the strategic Red Sea city of Mocha. 'The armed forces destroyed vehicles and weapons and killed members of the Houthi terrorist militia backed by the Iranian regime,' near the port of the city of Mocha, the government news agency Saba reported. The spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, said they had also struck the Houthis' 'vehicles and members' on the Mocha-Dhubab road, 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the city, according to Saba. The Houthi offensive, which started last week, has killed more than 500 people, according to sources on both sides. It has also displaced about 46,000 people, the UN migration agency said on Friday. It is part of renewed hostilities in Yemen's civil war that began with the group's takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014. A senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognized government told the AP they were stunned that the Saudi air force did not try to prevent the capture of Mocha, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the strait. He assessed that Saudi Arabia didn't get a green light from the US to embark on a large-scale air campaign. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to speak to the media, also blamed 'lack of coordination' between Yemen's army and multiple allied militias, saying it gave the Houthis 'a priceless opportunity.' Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait had fallen by about 60% since the Houthis began attacking some ships there in late 2023 and expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Shipping increased this year as Saudi Arabia sought alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have 'curtailed' that activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence. That has forced Saudi Arabia to find yet another alternative, sending its oil north out of the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, either via the Suez Canal or a pipeline through Egypt, a far longer route for its clients in Asia. The Houthis have threatened that route as well, striking a Saudi vessel in the north of the Red Sea in late August. Tags: