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73 Young Recruits Killed in Houthi Missile Strike on Yemen Training Camp
A ballistic missile attack struck a military training camp as young recruits stood in formation, killing at least 73 and injuring more than 200, according to Yemeni officials. The attack has become one of the deadliest blows in the country’s renewed civil war.
Two soldiers with the Armed Forces of Yemen practice explosive hazard detection and reduction as part of BRIGHT STAR 25 at Mohamed Naguib Military Base (MNMB), Egypt, Aug. 31, 2025. U.S. Army Photo by Joseph Kumzak
They had not been sent to the front lines. They were still training for their first security assignments when three ballistic missiles struck their camp.
At least 73 young recruits, aged between 18 and 20, were killed in a missile attack on the al-Alam training camp in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province on Monday, October 19, according to the province’s governor, Awad Ibn al-Wazir. More than 200 others were wounded, with some suffering critical injuries. Several recruits were still missing as the death toll rose on Tuesday.
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The strike hit as recruits were lining up for a training session. The men had come from across Shabwa to join a newly established security force intended to protect the province, rather than conduct frontline combat operations, the governor told the Associated Press.
The Houthis, an Iran-aligned armed movement that controls Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said it had targeted a camp operated by Saudi forces, although it did not provide evidence for its claims about the facility or casualties. Yemen’s internationally recognized government described the victims as new recruits undergoing training.
The attack comes as Yemen’s long-running civil war enters another dangerous phase. Fighting intensified after a fragile ceasefire that had largely halted major hostilities since 2022 collapsed earlier this year. Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been attempting to recover territory from the Houthis, while the rebels have expanded attacks against government positions and Saudi targets.
The location of the camp adds to the strategic significance of the assault. Shabwa is an energy-rich province containing important oil and gas infrastructure, and it lies along routes connecting government-held areas with other contested regions. The wider conflict also threatens security around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical passage for international shipping linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Yemeni government leaders have promised a response to the attack, while local officials have called for stronger air defenses and early-warning systems to protect military facilities. The deaths also raise difficult questions about how vulnerable training camps remain to ballistic missile strikes as fighting intensifies.
For the families of the recruits, the strategic calculations offer little comfort. Many of those killed were barely out of their teens and had not yet begun the security duties for which they were preparing. Instead, a training session ended in mass casualties before they reached the front lines.
Editor’s Note: Casualty figures are based on statements from Yemeni officials reported by the Associated Press. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike, but their assertions about the target have not been independently verified. The conflict remains fluid, and casualty figures may change as authorities account for missing personnel.
