Three Houthi ballistic missiles struck the Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Centre at the al-Alam camp in Shabwa province on Monday (19 October) as recruits lined up for a morning training drill.

Shabwa authorities initially reported 53 killed; Governor Awad al-Wazir later put the toll at 58, with 14 people still missing and more than 200 injured, according to Reuters reporting carried by multiple outlets. Footage from the scene was verified by Reuters.

Hospitals in the provincial capital Ataq were overwhelmed, and the most seriously wounded were transferred to neighbouring Hadramout and Aden.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed the strike targeted a camp he described as run by Saudi officers — a claim the Yemeni government rejects; a government spokesman said the centre was training new internal security recruits who were not involved in the current fighting.

Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi denounced the attack and vowed a firm response. The strike is the deadliest single incident since fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government resumed, and it comes as government forces try to recover territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Sources: Reuters (via Harava News and SOFX), Shabwa provincial authorities.