---
title: "Yemeni forces claim Bab al-Mandeb gains as tanker attacks surge in Hormuz"
description: "Gulf crude exports still beat pre-war levels on 14 days in September; the Houthis struck back at Saudi targets"
author: "Luis Goa"
published: 2026-10-06T14:15:09Z
modified: 2026-10-06T15:34:06Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/yemeni-forces-claim-bab-al-mandeb-gains-as-tanker-attacks-su-019b0d
language: en
tags: ["oil", "yemen", "war", "hormuz", "houthi", "world", "mideast"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---
# Yemeni forces claim Bab al-Mandeb gains as tanker attacks surge in Hormuz
*Gulf crude exports still beat pre-war levels on 14 days in September; the Houthis struck back at Saudi targets*
By Luis Goa · October 6, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/yemeni-forces-claim-bab-al-mandeb-gains-as-tanker-attacks-su-019b0d
## In brief
- Saudi-backed Yemeni forces say they seized key positions on the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Houthis on Monday
- The Houthis claimed attacks on Saudi airports, oil sites and military targets, including Riyadh airport
- Pakistan and Turkey agreed to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia, Euronews reported
- Gulf oil flows excluding Iran recovered to over 81% of pre-war levels in September, Kpler said
- Middle East crude exports averaged 18.3m b/d in the week to Sept 30, above pre-war levels on 14 days that month
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces say they seized key positions on the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday, fighting to reverse the group’s advances of the month before, \[Reuters reported\](\), citing military and government sources. \[Al Jazeera\](\) likewise reports claims of several strategic positions taken near the strait as fighting intensifies along the western coast. The claims are striking — \[one account\](\) has the Saudi-backed forces reporting 1,122 strikes on Houthi positions while the Saudi-led coalition hit 324 targets — but they remain claims from the warring parties; the offensive has already reversed direction once in a month.
The Houthis answered on a second front. The group claimed attacks on airports, oil infrastructure and military sites inside Saudi Arabia, and \[Euronews reported\](\) that they struck Riyadh’s international airport and oil facilities as the government offensive got under way. The same report said Pakistan and Turkey agreed to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia. \[ABC News\](\) describes the government side as claiming the strait itself secured, part of a major offensive on the Red Sea coast.
## At the other chokepoint, exports are rising with the attacks
About 1,000km northeast, the filing from the Strait of Hormuz runs the other way: attacks on ships are surging, and oil is moving anyway. Gulf oil flows excluding Iran recovered to more than 81 percent of pre-war levels in September, and crude exports from the wider Middle East exceeded pre-war levels on 14 days of the month, maritime intelligence firm Kpler reported, \[per Al Jazeera\](\). The seven-day moving average of crude exports from the region stood at 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, \[Kpler’s provisional data showed\](\). Provisional here means subject to revision; the direction of the series is not.
The resilience has a mechanism, and it is routing rather than calm seas. The September surge was driven by Saudi Arabia loading from both Red Sea and Gulf terminals, three weeks after a September 10 attack on its East-West pipeline, \[NBC News reported Kpler as saying\](\). A producer whose Gulf outlet is threatened pushes barrels west; the export number holds even as the strait it nominally depends on gets more dangerous.
That leaves two contested maritime corridors in one week of the same war system: Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea, held or not held depending on whose claim is credited, and Hormuz, where ship attacks are rising while the tonne-miles keep clearing. The number to watch is whether the 18.3 million-barrel average survives the attack tempo that produced it — and whether Monday’s positions on the strait last longer than the ones lost in September.
## Sources
- [Yemen forces claim key gains near Bab al-Mandeb: What's the latest?](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/yemen-war-whats-the-latest-on-the-battlefield) — aljazeera.com
- [Hormuz ship attacks surge: Are increased oil exports sustainable?](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/hormuz-ship-attacks-surge-are-increased-oil-exports-sustainable) — aljazeera.com