Houthi Militants, Including Foreign Operatives, Killed in Blast During Maritime Attack Preparation

An explosion at a Houthi militia site in Yemen’s Red Sea coast killed several militants, including senior leaders and foreign fighters—one identified as an Iraqi national—while injuring others during preparations for a maritime attack, sources confirmed on Wednesday.

The blast occurred Tuesday evening in Hodeidah’s Al-Kathib district, near a covert facility used by the Iran-aligned Houthi group to assemble naval mines and explosive-laden boats intended to target international shipping routes, according to local sources.

Sources reported that a technical error during the handling of explosives triggered the detonation as militants readied a booby-trapped vessel and mine-equipped boats for deployment. The explosion killed multiple operatives instantly, with injured survivors rushed to Al-Thawra Hospital in Hodeidah.

The incident followed the Houthi faction’s defiant announcement earlier Tuesday resuming offensive operations in strategic waterways, including the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This escalation coincides with recent U.S. sanctions targeting top Houthi figures, such as Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the group’s Political Council, and spokesperson Mohammed Abdul Salam, based in Oman. The U.S. Treasury’s move comes months after designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

Regional analysts assert that the militia’s persistent aggression underscores its reliance on Iranian support and collaboration with foreign combat advisors from Iraq and Lebanon. “This incident exposes the Houthis’ reckless endangerment of regional stability and their disregard for diplomatic solutions,” said a Yemeni security official, speaking anonymously.