The death toll from a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a security training centre in Shabwa Governorate, southern Yemen, has risen to 73, with 14 people still missing, the local authority announced on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, according to South24. The Shabwa missile attack is the deadliest single incident since the resumption of Yemen’s civil war.
Three ballistic missiles struck the Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Centre at al-Alam camp on Monday, 19 October, while newly recruited internal security personnel were attending a training course, officials said. More than 200 others were wounded.
Recruits lined up when missiles hit
Around 700 recruits were participating in the course when the missiles struck, according to a South24 correspondent. One missile directly hit an area where recruits had gathered for a training drill, the report said.
A survivor told South24 that a reconnaissance drone, believed to be operated by the Houthis, had flown over the camp on each of the three nights preceding the attack. South24 said it could not independently verify who operated the aircraft.
Ambulances transported the wounded to hospitals in Ataq, the governorate’s capital, officials said. Some were transferred to Mukalla after casualties exceeded Ataq’s hospital capacity, and more than 1,000 residents gathered at hospitals, including blood donors.
Claims and condemnation
The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying they targeted Saudi-backed forces being mobilised, officials said. Shabwa’s local authority said those targeted were new internal security recruits attending a training course, not a coalition combat unit.
The US Embassy to Yemen condemned the attack as cowardly, officials said, offering condolences to victims’ families. Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi called the attack a terrorist act and promised a firm response, according to Defence and Tech reporting.
Officials said the attack underscored the Houthis’ growing missile capabilities and raised fears of a renewed full-scale conflict. Fighting has also spread across Taiz, Lahij, Marib and al-Jawf, according to the same reporting.
Local officials said funerals and support for bereaved families were under way in Shabwa, while hospitals continued to treat the wounded, and they appealed for blood donors and medical supplies, adding that names of the dead would be released only after families had been formally notified.
