MOKHA, Yemen: A Mokha attack killed six civilians and wounded eight others on Tuesday, according to Houthi-affiliated Saba, which blamed Saudi-led coalition airstrikes for the casualties.
Saba said two children and a woman were among those killed, while a child and a woman were among the wounded. The casualty figures and attribution have not been independently verified.
A competing pro-government account blamed a Houthi ballistic missile for casualties near market infrastructure. That version also has not been independently corroborated, leaving the immediate cause of the deaths disputed.
The incident comes amid renewed fighting in Yemen. Agence France-Presse reported that Houthi forces seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha earlier in September during an offensive against forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Saudi Arabia separately said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh at dawn on September 19. The Saudi Press Agency attributed the statement to coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki.
Read: Yemen Market Explosion Hits Crowded Area Near Bab el-Mandeb
Mokha lies near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a major shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. U.S. Energy Information Administration data show an average of 8.1 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum liquids moved through the strait in the second quarter of 2026, up from 5.4 million barrels per day in late 2025.
