Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, according to the military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead.

Yemen has already become a new front in the Middle East war that has grown around the US-Israel battle against Iran.

A military official said Thursday's attacks on troop camps was the worst in Yemen since 2022.

The defence ministry of Yemen's internationally recognised government said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the attacks "at the appropriate place and time".

SUCKED INTO WAR

The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that a military camp in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province, in central Yemen, had been attacked, as well as camps in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt, near the border with Saudi Arabia.

One missile attack hit troops during their morning formation at the camp in Marib, "killing and wounding at least 45 personnel", said a military source, who declined to be named for security reasons.

Saree named Al-Ruwaik, al-Thaniyah and al-Abr as being among the areas hit, warning the rebels were "prepared to confront any escalation".

TIT-FOR-TAT

The rebels welcomed an Iranian plane directly in the capital Sanaa, triggering tit-for-tat attacks. They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began hitting its tankers.

Last month, the Houthis killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces south of the port city of Hodeidah, two medical officials told AFP.

The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2014 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and much of the populous north, while the government holds much of the south.

The fighting had largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022 that had held despite expiring.