73 Killed, More Than 200 Injured in Houthi Strike on Yemen Camp in Shabwa

Updated 19:45 UTC, Oct 20, 2026. The death toll from the Houthi missile strike on the al-Alam training camp in Shabwa province has risen to 73, the provincial media office said on Tuesday, raising the count from 58 reported earlier in the day. Fourteen people remain missing and more than 200 were injured, according to Shabwa Governor Awad al-Wazir, Reuters reported. The Associated Press, citing Governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir, reported that the dead were all new recruits aged between 18 and 20 who were being trained to provide security in the province, and called the strike the deadliest since fighting in Yemen escalated three months ago. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the camp was run by Saudi forces. Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

Updated 10:19 UTC, Oct 20, 2026. The toll from the Houthi attack on the government security forces training camp in Shabwa province has risen again. Shabwa Governor Awad al-Wazir said 58 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the attack on the al-Alam camp, and 14 people remain missing, Reuters reported via Al-Monitor. The new count replaces the Shabwa local authority figure of 53 killed and 200 injured reported on Oct 19.

Updated 20:21 UTC, Oct 19, 2026. The death toll from the Houthi missile strike on the al-Alam camp in Shabwa has risen to 53 killed and 200 injured, the Shabwa local authority said in preliminary figures carried by Reuters. Three ballistic missiles hit the Ahmed al-Sulaimani training centre at the camp in the Jardan district near Ataq while recruits for the internal security forces were lined up in formation for training, local authority sources told Reuters. Video verified by Reuters showed injured people and bloodied bodies on the ground. BBC News reported more than 50 security personnel killed and 200 injured, and the Associated Press also reported 53 killed. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the missiles targeted a gathering of Saudi enemy forces at the camp. Rashad al-Alimi, who heads Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, condemned the attack and promised a firm response. Shabwa deputy governor Fahad al-Khalifi told AFP that hospitals in the province could not cope and that the most seriously hurt were being sent to Hadramout and Aden. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the attack was a war crime because the centre trained internal security forces. The earlier counts in this article, at least 18 killed in the first Reuters report on Monday morning and at least 30 in a Sky News Arabia report, have been overtaken by the local authority count.

At least 18 people were killed on Monday in an attack by Yemen's Houthi movement on a government military training camp in Shabwa province, four government and medical sources told Reuters.

Reuters reported the toll on Monday morning, October 19, 2026, and described the Houthis as the Iran-aligned movement fighting Yemen's internationally recognised government. The sources did not give a count of the wounded in the Reuters report, and Reuters did not name the camp.

A second report gave a higher toll. Sky News Arabia reported that at least 30 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in a ballistic missile attack on a Yemeni government military training camp in Shabwa governorate on Monday, according to a summary of its reporting carried by breaking news outlets.

The two tolls do not match, which is common in the first hours after an attack on a military site in Yemen, where access is limited and official statements often come late. Orbit Post is reporting both figures with their sources, and is treating at least 18 as the confirmed floor until officials publish a single count.

What is known, and what is not

Both reports agree on the core facts: the target was a government military training camp, the province was Shabwa in southern Yemen, and the attack happened on Monday. Reuters attributed the attack to the Houthis. Sky News Arabia described the weapon as a ballistic missile.

No Yemeni government statement on the Shabwa attack had been reported by either outlet at the time of publication, and neither report gave the names of the dead, the unit based at the camp, or a Houthi statement claiming this specific attack.

A war that flared again this month

The Shabwa attack lands four days after the Houthis struck the seat of the same government in Aden. On October 15, 2026, missiles and drones hit the al-Maashiq presidential palace complex in Aden, killing five people and wounding 16, according to Yemen's health minister. Two of the dead were members of the prime minister's security detail, and Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani was not harmed.

The Houthis said that attack targeted what they described as a Saudi military operations headquarters inside the palace compound. Yemen's government said it would keep working in Aden and keep fighting.

The Aden strike was one of the highest profile attacks on the government since it launched a campaign this month called Dawn of Yemen, aimed at retaking ground from the Houthis, including Red Sea coastal territory near the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Government forces say the campaign is still advancing, and the Houthis have cast their strikes as retaliation for Saudi backing of the government.

The wider conflict

Yemen has been divided since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the internationally recognised government, which is now based in Aden. A United Nations truce in 2022 curbed major fighting, but that truce unravelled this summer and fighting has escalated since.

Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis of repeated strikes on Saudi airports, ports and oil sites in recent weeks. Aid agencies have warned that renewed fighting makes an already severe humanitarian crisis worse, in a country where millions depend on food and medical aid.

For now, this is the deadliest single incident reported in Yemen this week. Whether the toll stays at 18 or rises toward 30 will depend on the first official count from Yemeni authorities and on hospital reporting from Shabwa.