Yemen’s army downs Houthi drones over Aden and escalates strikes on Sanaa, Saada and Taiz — senior security commander killed in clashes

Yemen’s army announced on Friday that its air defences had shot down Houthi drones over the interim capital Aden, while government forces struck the group’s positions in Sanaa, Saada and Taiz, as the Anadolu agency reports in Al Jazeera’s live updates on the U.S.–Iran war.

Army spokesman Major General Majed al-Nuzaili said the drones were intercepted before they reached civilian areas. According to him, government forces hit high-value targets in Sanaa and 11 targets in Saada province.

In Taiz, the air force carried out 20 strikes over three hours against Houthi movements, fighters, vehicles and military equipment, while the Taiz military axis also announced fierce clashes on the city’s northern front.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Interior Ministry announced that Major General Mohammed Salem Abdullah al-Khawlani, chief of staff of the Emergency Forces, was killed in clashes with Houthi fighters on the Al-Kadaha front in the southwestern province of Taiz. According to the ministry, he is the most senior security official of the Yemeni government to be killed since the military escalation began in July, while fighting has intensified on several Taiz fronts, including Al-Kadaha, Jabal Habashi, Maqbanah and Al-Misrakh.

The escalation comes as the war between the government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Houthis deepens in western Yemen, with the group having strengthened its control over the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.