Sanaa, Sep 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Yemen's Houthi group freed 210 of its members held by government forces after seizing a prison during its rapid advance along the country's Red Sea coast, a Houthi military official told Xinhua on Sunday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces stormed a government-run prison after capturing the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha in southwestern Taiz province on Thursday.
"Before retreating, the mercenary forces gathered all 210 prisoners in a large hall and locked them inside," the Houthi official said, referring to government forces. "Our fighters broke into the facility and freed them," Xinhua News Agency reported.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV confirmed the arrival of the 210 prisoners in Sanaa on Saturday.
The Yemeni government had not immediately commented on the release. In May, the two sides agreed in UN-sponsored talks in Jordan to exchange about 1,750 detainees -- the largest such deal since the conflict began --, but the agreement has not yet been implemented.
The release came amid a sweeping Houthi offensive launched on September 3 along Yemen's Red Sea coast. The Houthis have captured Mocha and Mayun Island and pushed south toward Lahj province, bringing the fighting closer to Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government.
Earlier in the day, the Houthi group said that it had launched a large-scale ballistic missile and drone attack on a military base in southern Saudi Arabia.
In a statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the attack targeted weapons depots and command-and-control facilities at a military base in Sharurah, a Saudi city near the Yemeni border.
Sarea said a "large barrage" of ballistic missiles and drones was used, claiming the attack directly hit its targets. He gave no details on casualties or damage.
He said the operation was in retaliation for continued Saudi military action in Yemen and warned that further escalation would be met with "larger operations" deeper inside Saudi territory.
Yemen's conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.
–IANS
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Source: IANS
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