US deploys military advisers to aid Saudi campaign against Houthis - report

The United States has expanded its military assistance to Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom confronts a growing wave of attacks from Yemen’s Houthi movement, CNN reported Thursday.

Citing five people briefed on the mission, the network said more than 100 American advisers are working in Saudi Arabia. One US official placed the total number of personnel involved at approximately 200.

The advisers are reportedly serving within a joint command recently established to coordinate the response to Houthi operations. I

ts formation followed signs that Tehran was increasing its backing for the Yemeni group, which has launched missiles and drones toward Saudi territory.

US assistance reportedly includes intelligence analysis and technology that allows Saudi commanders to monitor battlefield activity as it unfolds. American personnel are also said to be providing geospatial data to help identify and assess potential targets.

Despite the increased cooperation, American forces are not directly carrying out attacks. The report said the US is neither participating in Saudi airstrikes nor supplying aerial refueling and other forms of operational support provided during earlier stages of the Yemen conflict.

The mission is instead focused on helping Saudi forces improve their planning, coordination and execution. Sources characterized the deployment as an expansion of the two countries’ longstanding military partnership, which has included intelligence sharing, training and advisory support.

This comes amid heightened fighting on both sides of the Saudi-Yemeni border and mounting concern over the security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Houthi forces recently captured the coastal city of Mocha, potentially strengthening their position near the strategic waterway. Consolidated control of the area could give the group greater capacity to disrupt commercial shipping. Houthi leaders have already threatened to shut the strait.

Hostilities have steadily worsened since July as the Houthis continued attacking locations associated with Saudi Arabia.