Three Senior Houthi Field Commanders Killed in Western Taiz Clashes

Three senior field commanders affiliated with the Houthi group were killed in intense fighting that erupted over the past several hours against Yemen’s National Resistance Forces on the western coast and the Taiz Axis along the Al-Burayh–Al-Kadha and Maqbanah fronts in western Taiz governorate.

Identified commanders killed

The deceased include Saif Hadi al-Mawfari, commander of what the group calls its “Special Tasks Battalion,” who hails from As-Safra’ District in Saada Governorate—the Houthi militia’s main stronghold. Field sources confirmed his body arrived in Saada early Friday morning alongside the remains of dozens of other group members.

Muhammad Harith Ali Muttalib al-Alawi—known by the alias “Abu Jihad al-Alawi”—was also killed. He served as one of the group’s battalion commanders on the Maqbanah front and is from Bani Sireen District in Amran Governorate.

In the Al-Kadha front, field sources reported the death of Kamel Khalil Nasser al-Wazir, known as “Abu Ali al-Madani,” along with several of his associates.

Timeline and operational context

These fatalities occurred during continuous combat operations beginning at dawn on Thursday. The clashes coincided with a broad Houthi escalation involving ballistic missiles, drones, and explosive-laden boats targeting Yemen’s western coast.

Concurrently, the National Resistance Forces and the Taiz Axis thwarted what they described as the most severe attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi group against the western coast—a campaign reportedly aimed at severing the area’s connection to Taiz.

Yemeni government forces launched a counteroffensive supported by artillery fire and joint reinforcements. The operation resulted in dozens of Houthi fighters killed and wounded, the capture of several group members, and the destruction of military vehicles. The bodies of some of the dead remain in the combat zones.