Aden (South24 Center)

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More than 53 recruits were killed and over 200 others wounded in a Houthi attack on Al-Alam camp in Shabwa Governorate, South Yemen, the local authority said on Monday (October 19).

Three ballistic missiles struck the camp during a training course for the “Rapid Intervention Battalion,” a newly formed Southern force. Around 700 personnel were taking part, according to a South24 correspondent.

#BREAKING 

Video: Citizens in Shabwa flock to Ataq hospitals to donate blood and save the wounded from the Houthi attack, amid calls to sustain the response

#south24 

https://t.co/YJAt9wD8Bw

— South24 | English (@South24E) October 19, 2026

One of the missiles struck an area where soldiers had gathered, causing dozens of casualties, the correspondent said. A survivor told South24 that a reconnaissance drone, believed to be Houthi-operated, had flown over the camp on each of the three nights before the attack.

Ambulances continued transporting casualties to hospitals in Ataq, where more than 1,000 people gathered. Some donated blood for the wounded, while others searched for or checked on relatives, the correspondent reported.

The Shabwa local authority said the scale of the attack required urgent military and security measures to prevent further Houthi attacks, adding that condemnation alone was not enough. It called on the Presidential Leadership Council, the government and Saudi Arabia to provide the governorate with air defense systems, surveillance equipment and early-warning systems.

#BREAKING 

Shabwa Governor Al-Awlaqi inspects the wounded victims of the Houthi missile attack in Ataq hospitals, and directs raising medical readiness and providing the necessary care for the injured

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https://t.co/G6vkGt3ti5

— South24 | English (@South24E) October 19, 2026

The Houthis have previously targeted military gatherings in South Yemen. On January 10, 2019, a Houthi drone struck a military parade at Al-Anad air base in Lahj, killing six soldiers and wounding 20 others, including Southern military commanders. On August 1 that year, a ballistic missile and a drone struck Al-Jalaa camp in Aden during a graduation ceremony, killing dozens, including Munir al-Yafaei, commander of the First Brigade of the Security Belt Forces.

On August 29, 2021, Al-Anad air base was targeted again in a missile and drone attack on a training camp for soldiers from the Third Giants Brigade. The attack killed about 40 soldiers and wounded 60 others, according to medical and military sources cited by South24.

Separately, two soldiers from the Southern Giants Brigades were killed and four others wounded when an improvised explosive device struck a military convoy late Sunday in the Al-Uqla area of Shabwa, sources told South24.

Shabwa Defense Forces said on Monday that their drones had carried out several strikes against Houthi positions on the Ayn, Harib, Bayhan and Markhah al-Ulya fronts. They did not disclose the results.