A flurry of recent developments, including Saudi Arabia's reported agreement to a partial cease-fire in Yemen, are recognition that the Houthis remain an obstinate enemy that's gaining in military sophistication. Their claims to have carried out Sept. 14 drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities were rejected by most observers, who concluded the sophisticated strikes were launched by Iran.
Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the group's leader, studied the Quran in Saada, a mud-walled city of about 50,000 people high in the mountains of north Yemen, an hour's drive from the Saudi border. He built a force that, according to one estimate, had about 10,000 fighters before the war.
Since 2015, the war in a country awash with guns has caused the death of thousands of civilians, displaced millions of hungry people and allowed a resurgence by Al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIS).
The attacks on the Saudi oil facilities have now spurred efforts to end the conflict.
Over the weekend, the Houthis claimed without providing clinching evidence to have killed hundreds of troops in an attack on Saudi territory and taken thousands more captive.
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