DOHA, October 15. /TASS/. The Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah say they have taken prisoner more than 700 soldiers of the government army during clashes in the Yemeni southwestern Taiz Governorate, Abdulqader al-Murtadha, chief of the Ansar Allah committee for prisoner affairs, said.

"During this confrontation, the armed forces took prisoner more than 700 people in Taiz, with dozens of military commanders among them," he said as quoted by the Houthi-controlled SABA agency.

On October 12, the Houthis said they had gained control over a range of areas in the Taiz Governorate and had driven government forces out of these areas. On Wednesday, the armed forces of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government reported that they had neutralized around 1,250 militants and destroyed more than 460 their vehicles as part of Operation Dawn of Yemen.

The armed confrontation between government forces and Houthi rebels has been continuing in Yemen since August 2014. The situation deteriorated dramatically this summer. In early August 2026, Ansar Allah launched an offensive in the country's southwest and took control of the port city of Mokha and territories along the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in western Yemen on September 10-11. Government forces mounted several counterattacks near the strait in the following days. On October 5, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi announced the launch of a large-scale operation, Dawn of Yemen, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, to liberate the capital city from the rebels.