Houthis Say Saudi Strike Kills Six in Yemen’s Port City of Mokha

Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha killed at least six people and wounded eight others, the Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency reported Tuesday.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has launched a rapid offensive in recent weeks aimed at seizing control of the country’s entire Red Sea coastline, including Mokha, prompting the Saudi-backed government to step up its response.

“Six civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed and eight others, including a child and a woman, were wounded in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Mokha,” Saba reported.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s governing body, spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump to seek American assistance against the Iran-aligned fighters, a source in Alimi’s office told AFP on Monday. The source said Trump did not pledge military support, describing Sunday’s call as an expression of solidarity with Yemen’s embattled government.

US media reports have also said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump to launch strikes against the Houthis.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has agreed to provide military support to Saudi Arabia, according to media reports published Monday.

Recent Houthi advances have strengthened Iran and its allies’ position around two strategically important waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz, which Gulf states and major oil exporter Saudi Arabia depend on for energy shipments.

The wider Middle East conflict began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes against Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with attacks across the region.

Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, subsequently became involved in the conflict.

Yemen’s war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. The conflict had remained largely frozen since 2022 before hostilities resumed in July.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015. Its intervention intensified the conflict, which has contributed to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.