Yemeni army forces on Friday, 18 September 2026, recaptured positions that Houthi forces had infiltrated on several fronts west of Taiz governorate, following clashes that began after overnight attacks by the group and continued on some fronts until Friday afternoon, according to field military sources.
Army forces recapture positions in al-Kadaha and al-Wazi'iyah
The military sources said forces from the Taiz محور brigades had forced Houthi groups to withdraw from positions they had attempted to infiltrate in the al-Kadaha area of al-Ma'afir district. They added that fighting on this front had continued from Friday morning until midday, before government forces managed to recapture the positions. In al-Wazi'iyah district, army forces recaptured other positions entered by the Houthis during an attack that began late on Thursday evening, 17 September.
The sources said that, backed by armed members of al-Wazi'iyah tribes, the forces launched a counterattack on Friday morning and seized two positions they described as important. Government forces compelled the group's fighters to retreat towards al-Dharifah Bridge, while also bringing down a Houthi drone, according to the same sources.
The group also attempted to advance towards the Sharirah area, located between al-Wazi'iyah and al-Shamayatayn districts, before retreating under fire from government forces. Clashes on the Sharirah front continued from Thursday afternoon until Friday afternoon, amid ongoing fighting in scattered areas of western rural Taiz. These developments came amid a field escalation on the al-Kadaha and al-Wazi'iyah fronts and in other parts of the governorate in recent days.
Air strikes target Houthi positions
Alongside the ground clashes, the Taiz military محور said government warplanes had carried out air strikes targeting Houthi positions and gatherings around Qasr Roundabout east of Taiz city. Earlier clashes and air strikes also centred on the al-Dharifah junction and other areas of al-Wazi'iyah district.
Military media also reported that forces from the Taiz محور, Tor al-Bahah محور and Giants Brigades had made advances on several fronts, and that the clashes had resulted in the deaths and capture of a number of the group's fighters, without specifying the number of captives or the additional positions where advances had been made.
As the escalation affected civilians, local sources said that three children were killed on Friday in shelling attributed to the Houthis on al-Tarirah village in the al-Dharifah subdistrict of al-Wazi'iyah district. The sources identified them as Nour al-Din Yaqub Abduh al-Dharafi, aged four; Asawir Fahd Mohammed Ghanem al-Dharafi, aged 14; and Tala Mohammed Ahmed al-Dharafi, aged two.
