Aden (South24 Center)

South Yemen witnessed a major military escalation during the second half of October, marked by Houthi missile attacks targeting military camps, airports, and vital facilities. The deadliest attack killed 81 recruits and wounded approximately 200 others in Shabwa Governorate, as fighting continued on the Lahj, AlDhalea, and Taiz fronts, while exchanges of attacks extended into Saudi territory.

Data from South24 Center's interactive monitoring project recorded 160 military and security incidents across Yemen and Saudi Arabia between October 16 and 30. The Center individually documented 118 people killed and 259 wounded, in addition to approximately 53 others reported killed or wounded without a breakdown of the two categories.

The deadliest attack occurred on October 19, when the Houthi militia struck Al-Alam Camp in Shabwa Governorate with three ballistic missiles during a training course involving approximately 700 recruits from a Rapid Intervention Battalion affiliated with newly established Southern Forces. According to an updated toll documented by South24 Center based on local authorities' figures, 81 recruits were killed and approximately 200 others wounded, while the search continued for 14 missing personnel. The Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shabwa witnessed further attacks and clashes, including an explosive device that struck a convoy of the Giants Brigades in the Al-Aqla area on October 18, killing two soldiers and wounding four others. On October 22, two members of the Southern Resistance were killed and six others, including resistance fighters and civilians supporting them, were wounded in clashes with Al-Qaeda (AQAP) militants in the Khoura area of Markha Al-Sufla District, according to local sources. Two Al-Qaeda members were also wounded.

In Aden, missile attacks intensified against the international airport, residential neighborhoods, and military facilities. On October 24, the Houthis launched three ballistic missiles toward the city. Two landed in densely populated residential areas of the Old Al-Nasr neighborhood in Khormaksar, while the third targeted a Coast Guard building in Al-Tawahi, according to the Yemeni Interior Ministry.

Aden International Airport came under repeated attacks during the period, including a strike involving two ballistic missiles on October 28, following Houthi threats demanding its evacuation. The threats forced hundreds of passengers, including patients, to leave the airport. On October 30, military and security sources reported that Aden International Airport and Maashiq Palace, the headquarters of the Yemeni government, had been targeted, with two powerful explosions heard across the city. According to South24 Center's monitoring, the number of reported attacks targeting Aden Airport reached seven during October.

In Hadramout, four Houthi missiles struck Al-Riyan Airport in Mukalla on October 21, hitting several locations within the facility, while a drone fell near the runway. The airport was subsequently targeted by another missile strike that hit the runway. No casualties were reported in the second attack, according to available information.

The Lahj and AlDhalea fronts also witnessed repeated clashes between Southern Forces and the Houthis, particularly in Kahboub, Al-Mudaraba, Battar, and Bab Ghalaq. The Giants Brigades said they had repelled large-scale Houthi attacks in Kahboub and inflicted heavy losses on the group, although the figures could not be independently verified. On October 25, three Southern Forces soldiers were killed by Houthi sniper fire on the Al-Muhawala front in Lahj, while a woman was wounded in artillery shelling targeting Habail Al-Ahnash village in Karsh, northern Lahj.

Civilian casualties were also reported in Taiz Governorate, where local authorities said eight civilians were killed and six others wounded in Houthi shelling of Al-Maqdi village in Maqbana on October 17. Two more civilians were killed and eight wounded in shelling targeting the Sina area on October 20. On October 22, an ambulance driver was killed and a patient wounded in a drone attack, according to Yemen's Health Minister.

In Saudi Arabia, authorities reported that two residents were killed in a drone attack targeting the Shaybah oil field on October 21, while two people were killed and eight wounded in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Six others were wounded in Najran. Saudi air defenses also intercepted Houthi-launched ballistic missiles and drones in other parts of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Saudi military operations targeted Houthi positions and missile capabilities in areas under the group's control in Yemen, as the Houthis continued launching missiles and drones toward Saudi territory. Saudi authorities said the operations were aimed at reducing the Houthis' ability to carry out further attacks.

On the security front, local authorities in several South Yemen governorates announced operations targeting cells and weapons-smuggling networks allegedly linked to the Houthis. On October 25, security forces in Shabwa announced the arrest of 13 individuals suspected of belonging to a Houthi cell and the seizure of a shipment of weapons, ammunition, and explosives smuggled by sea through the coast of Rudum, according to preliminary investigations.

The military escalation coincided with growing risks to vital facilities and air transportation in South Yemen, particularly amid repeated attacks on Aden and Al-Riyan airports and strikes reaching areas near residential neighborhoods and government headquarters.

Incidents documented by South24 Center showed that the impact of the attacks extended beyond military casualties to civilians and air travelers, while the full extent of the resulting material damage remained unclear.

In separate casualty and operational reports, Colonel Majed Al-Nuzaili, military spokesperson for forces loyal to the Yemeni government, announced in six statements issued between October 19 and 28 that 5,458 targeting operations had been carried out. According to the combined figures released in those statements, the operations resulted in the "neutralization" of approximately 2,216 Houthi fighters and the destruction or disabling of more than 868 military vehicles, pieces of equipment, and weapons. The accuracy and reliability of these reported figures could not be independently verified.

The Governor of Taiz also announced that 272 civilians had been killed and more than 1,000 others wounded since the latest escalation began. Meanwhile, on October 29, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the death toll from the military escalation in Yemen between August and October 25 had risen to 1,677, with 7,395 others wounded.

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