Yemen retakes Bab al-Mandab Strait from Houthis

A spokesman for the Yemeni army announced Monday that government forces successfully retook control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait in a large-scale military operation, with Houthi forces fleeing the area. The spokesman also said that forces loyal to Yemen's government captured the road connecting Dhubab district to the port city of Mocha.

The advance by pro-Saudi forces comes a month after the Houthis made a surprise move to capture major port cities in southern Yemen, giving the Iranian-backed rebel group control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, considered the "gateway" to the Red Sea. Seizure of the strait had allowed the Houthis to threaten an additional blockade and closure of a critical shipping route for international trade.

Meanwhile, the Houthis recorded gains on a different front, releasing footage Sunday that proved particularly embarrassing for the Yemeni government and its Saudi backers. The video showed how they captured the palace of Sultan al-Barakani, speaker of the parliament under Yemen's "official government" backed by Saudi Arabia. In the video, the Houthis mocked Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government, hinting they may soon operate inside Saudi Arabia itself, with one fighter promising "we will reach your palaces too."

Al-Barakani is considered one of the most senior figures in the Saudi-backed Yemeni administration and is close to the royal family itself. He was forced to flee his estate earlier following Houthi advances in the fighting and the collapse of Saudi-backed defensive forces.