Yemeni government forces regained the initiative on Thursday in western Taiz after repelling a major Houthi offensive launched across several fronts, followed by a coordinated counterattack that restored a number of strategic positions seized by the group during the early hours of the fighting.
The clashes erupted across the fronts of Maqbanah, Al-Kadha, Al-Tuwair, Al-Ahṭoub, and Jabal Ghabari, as the Houthis launched simultaneous attacks and infiltration attempts, backed by intensive artillery and rocket fire and extensive use of drones.
According to military and field sources cited by local media, the offensive sought to make advances across key heights overlooking the western Taiz fronts and place pressure on the vital supply route linking Taiz city with the coastal city of Mokha.
The Houthi offensive achieved initial gains, but failed to hold the positions it seized as government forces launched a coordinated counterattack.
Initial Houthi Advance
The fighting began in the early hours of Thursday following heavy Houthi artillery and rocket bombardment of government positions, accompanied by intensive drone activity.
The clashes extended across Al-Kadha, Maqbanah, Al-Tuwair, Al-Barah, Suqm, and Al-Ahṭoub, reaching parts of Jabal Habashi, Mawza, and Al-Wazi'iyah districts.
Field sources said the Houthis managed during the first hours to seize several positions, while deploying reinforcements toward the Maqbanah front and attempting to advance toward areas including Al-Sharajah, Al-Rahbah, and Al-Afira in Jabal Habashi.
The movements appeared aimed at reaching elevated positions overlooking the Al-Kadha axis and expanding pressure on the routes connecting the western countryside of Taiz with the Red Sea coast.
Counterattack Reverses the Course of Fighting
Government forces and the National Resistance subsequently launched a coordinated counterattack against Houthi positions.
The counteroffensive succeeded in retaking several positions captured by the Houthis earlier in the day. In Al-Ahṭoub, government forces also carried out a flanking operation against Houthi fighters and repelled an attempted infiltration.
The fighting was particularly intense around Maqbanah and Al-Kadha, where the two sides exchanged heavy artillery fire as government forces sought to prevent the Houthis from consolidating their initial gains.
After an initial Houthi push, government forces turned the battlefield around by retaking several positions and restoring the initiative.
The Maqbanah, Al-Kadha, and Al-Tuwair fronts are considered strategically important because of their location along the western approaches to Taiz and their connection to routes leading toward the coastal areas.
Houthi Casualties and Captured Fighters
The Armed Forces Media Center, citing a military source, reported that more than 18 Houthi fighters were killed, with others wounded and several captured. It also said the bodies of Houthi fighters remained in some areas of the clashes.
The Taiz Military Axis, however, put the Houthi casualties at around 50 killed and wounded, in addition to a number of captured fighters, particularly in the Maqbanah and Al-Kadha fronts.
The figures could not be independently verified.
Military sources also reported that two Houthi military vehicles were targeted by artillery fire in Al-Kadha, destroying both vehicles and killing or wounding fighters aboard them.
Drones Shot Down
The ground fighting was accompanied by intensive Houthi drone activity.
The Taiz Military Axis said its air defenses shot down three Houthi suicide drones over Jabal Habashi. Field sources also reported the downing of additional Houthi drones over the Al-Anin and Al-Buraihah fronts.
The use of drones alongside artillery fire and infiltration attempts underscored the scale and coordination of the Houthi assault across multiple axes.
The offensive combined heavy artillery, rocket fire and drones with simultaneous ground assaults in an attempt to break through the western Taiz defenses.
Fighting Extends Toward the Western Coast
The escalation was not confined to Taiz's inland fronts. Military sources reported that the Houthi offensive was preceded and accompanied by ballistic missile and artillery strikes against areas along the western coast.
The areas around Jabal Ghabari, Al-Barah, and Maqbanah also witnessed reciprocal shelling and heavy clashes.
In Mawza district, fighting extended to elevated positions overlooking the Al-Aqmah area, where National Resistance forces are deployed.
Field sources reported advances by government forces in some locations, although independent information confirming the precise changes in control lines remained unavailable.
Government Forces Also Suffer Casualties
Government forces and National Resistance units also sustained casualties during the fighting.
Sources within the National Resistance reported that four members of the Maghawir forces were killed, while additional personnel from the government forces and the Taiz Military Axis were wounded.
The exact overall number of government casualties was not immediately available.
Civilian Displacement
The fighting and heavy Houthi shelling also forced residents to flee several villages in the Maqbanah and Al-Kadha areas, according to local sources.
Families from displacement camps located near the fighting also reportedly left the areas amid the intensified bombardment.
Separately, local sources reported that a projectile landed near Karim School in the Al-Suwaida area of Al-Wazi'iyah district while students were inside classrooms. No casualties were reported in the initial accounts.
Houthi Gains Fail to Hold
The latest developments indicate that the Houthi offensive, despite its scale and the intensity of the firepower deployed, failed to consolidate its initial territorial gains.
The group managed to seize several positions during the opening phase of the assault, but government forces and the National Resistance subsequently regained the initiative through a coordinated counterattack and retook several of those positions.
The battle in western Taiz remains fluid, but the initial Houthi gains have not translated into a lasting shift in the front lines.
Fighting continued across several western Taiz fronts, with ongoing artillery exchanges, drone activity, and military reinforcements from both sides.
The Maqbanah, Al-Kadha, Al-Tuwair, and Al-Ahṭoub fronts remain among the most active areas of confrontation, given their strategic importance to the western approaches to Taiz and the routes linking the governorate to Yemen's Red Sea coast.
