Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Yemeni government attacked the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Monday to try to reclaim territory along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a choke point at the southern tip of the Red Sea.
The offensive was announced a day after the Yemeni government declared a full-blown war against the Houthis to retake territory it had lost to the militia over the past 12 years. The Yemeni government depends heavily on financial and military support from Saudi Arabia.
The offensive in Yemen has plunged the Middle East even deeper into conflict as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran enters its eighth month with no end in sight.
A Yemeni military spokesman, Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, announced the Bab al-Mandab campaign in a statement on social media. In a separate statement, a spokesman for a Saudi military coalition in Yemen, Maj. General Turki al-Maliki, said that 100 warplanes from the coalition were taking part in the a new operation called Yemen’s Dawn. That included airstrikes to support Yemeni government troops fighting in the Bab al-Mandab area, he said.
It was unclear whether any countries other than Saudi Arabia were participating in the air campaign.
The United States is providing military support to Saudi Arabia during the offensive, according to one current and one former U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matter.
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