Click to see full-size map
On July 6, the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies launched a new ground attack along the western Yemen coast and captured the district center of al-Tuhayat after a series of clashes with the Houthis, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV.
The Sky News Arabiya TV reported that the Saudi-led coalition killed dozens of Houthi fighters during the clashes in al-Tuhayat. Coalition forces are now clearing the district center from the IEDs and mines, which had been planted by the Houthis.
The capture of al-Tuhayat will further secure the supply line of the Saudi-led coalition along the western coast of Yemen. Last month, the supply line was cut several times because of repeated attacks by the Houthis on the coalition’s positions in the town of al-Faza, 15km west of al-Tuhayat.
In what appears to be a response to the Saudi-led coalition advance, the Yemeni Missile Force [loyal to the Houthis] announced that it had launched a Badir-1 “ballistic missile” at the industrial city in the southern Saudi province of Jizan.
Minutes after the Yemeni Missiles Force announcement, al-Arabiya reported that the Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (SADF) tracked and intercepted a “ballistic missile” of the Houthis over Jizan. Saudi activists didn’t report any hits, which confirms al-Arabiya claims.
The Houthis have been using their missile capabilities as a mean to deter the Saudi-led coalition since the outbreak of the Yemeni war in 2015. However, this time the coalition appears to be determined to capture the coastal city of al-Hudaydah and its port more than ever.
