7 Houthi rebels killed as government troops defend a front in Yemen

A senior Houthi military commander known as “Abu Saqr al-Qafr” was killed along with six of his escorts during recent fighting on the Kahboub (or Kahbub) front near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait in southwestern Yemen.

Field and local sources identified the commander as Firaq (or Faraq/Farag) Mohsen al-Assar (also spelled Al-Assar or Al-Asar), who held the rank of major general (liwa) within the Houthi ranks. He was from Al-Qafr district in Ibb province and had previously commanded the so-called “First Commandos Brigade” (al-Liwa al-Awwal Maghawir).

Multiple reports from Yemeni sources indicate he was killed in an airstrike, with some specifying a drone strike carried out by government forces that targeted a Houthi position or gathering in the mountainous Kahboub area overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, west of Taiz (in Al-Wazi’iyah district). His body and those of his escorts were reportedly transferred to the morgue at Al-Thawra Hospital in Ibb city. The Houthis have not issued an official detailed statement, though some affiliated accounts and local pages from his home area circulated mourning messages confirming his death.

Al-Assar was described as a prominent field commander with a long history in Houthi ranks. He participated in earlier conflicts, including the Saada wars, operations on the Marib fronts, and recruitment/mobilization campaigns in Ibb province districts such as Al-Saddah and Al-Nadirah. In recent months he was reportedly assigned to operations aimed at the western coast and efforts to advance toward Bab al-Mandab.

The Kahboub front has seen intensified clashes in recent days as Houthi forces attempted advances toward key high ground near the international waterway, while Yemeni government forces and allied units reported inflicting significant losses, including the destruction of military vehicles and disruption of Houthi movements.

The incident marks a notable loss for Houthi military leadership on a strategically sensitive front controlling approaches to one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.