High-ranking Houthi commander and six aides killed in air strike in Lahj

A high-ranking Houthi military commander was killed along with several aides on Friday during an airstrike carried out by Yemeni forces in the southwestern front of Lahj governorate in southern Yemen.

Yemeni military sources told "Ere News" that Faraq Al-Asar, commander of the "First Mughawir Battalion" within the Houthi militia, was killed alongside six of his companions.

They added that this followed airstrikes conducted by Yemeni forces on Houthi positions in the strategic Khabab highlands, which overlook coastal areas south of the Red Sea.

The sources clarified that the body of the commander, who held the rank of "Colonel," was transported to Thowra Hospital in Ibb governorate amid media blackout imposed by the militia regarding the scale of human losses suffered in recent clashes.

For days, fierce fighting has been taking place on the southwestern front of Lahj governorate between government forces and tribal militias on one side, and the Houthis on the other.

This coincides with the militia's efforts to seize control of the Khabab mountainous ridges east of Bab al-Mandeb, aiming to secure their dominance over the southern regions of the country's western coastline.