Houthi missile strike on Yemen training camp in Shabwa kills at least 53 recruits, officials say

At least 53 people were killed and about 200 wounded on Monday, October 19, when Houthi ballistic missiles hit a training camp for new internal security recruits in Yemen's southern Shabwa province, according to the provincial authorities as reported by the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Asharq Al-Awsat. The Houthis acknowledged targeting the camp. The provincial government said the toll was preliminary and could rise.

How the toll rose

The first reports were lower. An early AP version put the dead at at least 20, and Al Jazeera's first figure, from government officials and medical sources, was at least 18 killed and more than 30 wounded. Later in the day the Shabwa local authority gave 53 dead and 200 injured, a figure carried by the AP, Al Jazeera, Asharq Al-Awsat and the BBC, whose headline gave a rounded figure of 50.

The AP attributes the 53 deaths to Yemeni military officials and describes the dead as soldiers; Al Jazeera, Asharq Al-Awsat and the BBC say they were new recruits in training, citing local authorities and the government.

Where and how

A spokesperson for Yemen's government forces said three ballistic missiles were fired, according to Al Jazeera and the BBC. Reports name the site differently: the BBC and Al Jazeera call it al-Alam camp near the provincial capital Ataq, while Asharq Al-Awsat identifies it as the Martyr Ahmed Al-Sulaimani Training Center on Ataq's outskirts. A Yemeni military official told the AP the missiles struck as recruits lined up for a training session.

Shabwa deputy governor Fahad al-Khalifi told AFP, as quoted by the BBC, that hospitals were overwhelmed and that the most seriously wounded were taken to Hadramout and Aden. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that hospitals in Ataq were ordered to raise readiness.

What each side said

Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, called the strike a terrorist act and promised a "firm response", according to the AP and Al Jazeera. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani called it a war crime, saying the centre was not a military target, the BBC reported.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Saudi enemy forces and that the camp was run by Saudi officers, the BBC reported. The AP said he claimed some Saudi officers were killed but gave no evidence. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sanaa reported that the Houthis consider any site with a Saudi-backed military presence a legitimate target.

The wider fighting

The strike is one of the deadliest since fighting resumed this year and broke a 2022 truce, the AP said. The BBC reported that the informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia and began attacking Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers. In September the Houthis seized territory on the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb strait; pro-government forces, with Saudi-led air support, launched an offensive in early October to retake it.

The AP reported that on the same day the Houthis claimed six attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, airports and military sites. Saudi Civil Defense issued alerts but reported no immediate casualties, and Saudi Arabia cancelled a global investment conference planned for next week and extended remote learning for schools in and around Riyadh, according to the AP. The BBC said at least 19 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since early October.

Casualties are also reported on the other side. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said an airstrike it blamed on Saudi-led forces killed at least nine people, including five children, in Saada on Sunday, the AP reported; the BBC, citing Houthi-run media, gave at least 10 dead. Saudi Arabia did not comment.