ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Three pro-government Yemeni soldiers were killed and nine others wounded on Monday in a drone attack by the Houthi group in the southeastern oil-rich province of Shabwa, a military official told Xinhua, amid mounting tensions in the war-torn country.
The local official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces used drones to strike positions of the 3rd Brigade of the pro-government Shabwa Defense Forces in an area near the Shabwa-Marib provincial border.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group.
The Houthis have recently sharply intensified missile and drone attacks on government-held areas in Yemen and targets in Saudi Arabia, a main ally of the Yemeni government.
On Sunday, the group launched a wave of attacks on Mocha, a government-held port city on Yemen's western coast.
The group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July, and has since attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea as well as oil facilities on Saudi soil.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension, but it ushered in a period of significantly reduced hostilities that largely held until the recent escalation. ■
