// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Yemeni government forces say they have 'secured' Bab al-Mandab Strait
Yemen's government says it has launched an offensive aimed at retaking all territory held by the Houthis
Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say they have "secured" the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the start of a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
A Yemeni military spokesman said Giants Brigades and National Shield forces were besieging Houthi fighters in the Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which overlooks the strategic waterway, after the forces took control of its airport and cut the road to the port city Mokha.
Houthi-run media denied that government forces had made advances in the Dhubab area.
The government said operations had also begun on several other fronts, including the capital Sanaa, which fell to the Houthis at the start of the civil war 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, a Saudi-led military coalition said its fighter jets had destroyed more than 300 "high-value" targets in strikes supporting the offensive.
On Sunday, the head of Yemen's internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council announced the beginning of an offensive aimed at retaking all territory held by the Houthis, insisting that all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted.
Rashad al-Alimi called on all armed forces, security forces and military formations "to begin carrying out their assigned missions, in accordance with the approved plans, until the country is liberated from the grip of the Houthi terrorist militia".
It came after the Houthi fighters reportedly cut a mountain road near the south-western city of Taiz, effectively leaving government forces and residents there surrounded.
The Houthis also said they had launched ballistic missiles and drones at oil sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh and the Khurais area of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for dozens of Saudi strikes on their territory.