The Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen dismissed on Saturday as “misleading” Houthi claims that they targeted the Saudi capital Riyadh. Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki told Asharq Al-Awsat that “what the Houthis are facing in Taiz, and the human losses suffered by the group's members at the hands of the heroes of the Yemeni Armed Forces and the Popular Resistance on all fronts drives them to seek illusory victories.” The Houthis are “attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and the growing public anger against them,” he added, while stressing that their “ties to external agendas that have brought chaos and devastation to Yemen.” The Iran-backed group claimed it had targeted Riyadh at a time when unified Yemeni forces are fighting battles to repel the group's attempts to secure positions it attacked on the West Coast. Recent Yemeni reports said the group has lost around 5,000 fighters within a week, while the Yemeni Armed Forces are carrying out a series of aerial and ground military operations across various fronts targeted by the Houthis. Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili announced in a statement the execution of 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi military positions, movements, and capabilities, utilizing fighter jets, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers. The operations covered Sanaa, Midi (northwest), and Baqim (Saada), the fronts of Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda, and Lahij, with operational efforts concentrated on the Taiz fronts, targeting command and control centers, troop gatherings and mobilizations, combat reserves, weapons and ammunition depots, as well as military supply lines and means, he added. According to preliminary field estimates, the operations resulted in the neutralization of at least 700 militants and destruction of 170 combat vehicles, stated Al-Nuzaili. This had a direct impact on the militias' combat capacity and limited their ability to continue their assaults against civilians in their homes and villages, he went on to say.
