South24 Center (Aden)

Two soldiers from the Shabwa Defense Forces were killed and nine others wounded on Monday (August 10) in a Houthi drone attack targeting their positions on the Harib-Ayn front in southern Marib Governorate, according to military and medical sources who spoke to South24 Center.

The Shabwa Defense Forces later identified the two soldiers, both members of the 3rd Brigade.

A medical source told South24 Center that two of the nine wounded were in critical condition after being transferred for treatment following the attack.

In a statement issued later on Monday, the Shabwa Defense Forces said Houthi drones had carried out several sorties targeting military positions belonging to the 3rd Brigade on the Harib-Ayn front.

The forces said they subsequently launched artillery and drone strikes against Houthi positions and concentrations as part of an operation dubbed “Suhum Shabwa”, carried out in coordination with the Saba Axis.

The Shabwa Defense Forces said the strikes inflicted personnel and material losses on the Houthis.

The latest attack came three days after another Houthi drone strike on the Harib front killed three Shabwa Defense Forces soldiers and wounded four others on Friday (August 7), according to a South24 Center correspondent in Shabwa.

Following Friday’s attack, the Shabwa Defense Forces announced a separate operation dubbed “Rapid Response”, targeting Houthi positions and command-and-control centers in Harib with Katyusha rockets and drones.

Separately, the “Giants Falcons” unit, affiliated with the Southern Giants forces, said on Monday that it targeted a Houthi military vehicle and barracks on the Beihan front in western Shabwa Governorate.

#عاجل |
قوات العمالقة الجنوبية تعلن استهداف مركبة وثكنة حوثية بالمسيرات في بيحان بشبوة عقب رصد تحركات في المواقع المتقدمة#south24 pic.twitter.com/yEv9Nx4xcX

— South24 | عربي (@South24_net) August 10, 2026

The unit said the operation followed the detection of Houthi movements at forward positions, adding that the strikes killed and wounded Houthi fighters and damaged military equipment and fortifications. The reported losses could not be independently verified.

The developments come amid increased military activity on several fronts bordering Shabwa Governorate. Earlier on Monday, local media reported that the Houthis had launched missile and drone attacks on Shabwa Defense Forces positions in Beihan, while military sources told South24 Center that Houthi reinforcements had moved from Mawiyah district toward the Al-Hasha, Baher and Al-Musaymir fronts.

The Harib and Beihan fronts form an important military sector linking southern Marib with western Shabwa and areas bordering Houthi-held territory. Beihan has remained an active frontline since the Southern Giants forces recaptured the district from the Houthis in January 2022.

The fighting in Harib and Beihan is part of a broader escalation between the Houthis and Southern and pro-government forces across several fronts in recent days.

In Abyan, a military source told South24 Center that a Houthi drone flew extensively over Lawdar district and approached Southern forces’ positions before being engaged. Southern forces also said that early on Sunday they confronted hostile drones attempting to approach vital and service facilities in the capital, Aden.

In Dhalea, Southern forces fired Katyusha rockets at Houthi positions and movements north of Al-Fakhir following Houthi mortar shelling of their positions. A civilian also died on Saturday from wounds sustained in Houthi shelling of Battar village, northwest of Dhalea, according to a South24 Center correspondent.

The escalation also follows a large-scale Houthi missile and drone attack on the Red Sea city of Al-Mokha, its port and nearby military positions on Sunday (August 9).

Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing a medical source, reported that 11 people were killed, including three civilians and eight military personnel, while 32 others were wounded. The source said all civilian casualties resulted from strikes targeting Al-Mokha Port.

The simultaneous attacks in Harib, Beihan, Dhalea, Abyan and along the West Coast point to a widening geographical scope of the latest military escalation after a period of relative calm across several of Yemen’s frontlines.