Yemen forces reclaim key Red Sea port city from Iran-backed Houthis in major counteroffensive

Yemen government forces said they've reclaimed the strategic port city of Mokha from the Iran-backed Houthis, seeking to loosen the militant group's grip on a critically important Red Sea oil route. In a lightning advance , the Saudi Arabia-backed government said Monday that its forces had taken control of Mokha "following fierce battles against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia" and had captured a number of key locations on the coast around Bab el-Mandeb Strait . Yemen government forces said they had also launched a " strategic offensive " on the country's capital of Sanaa, which the Houthis have held since 2014. CNBC could not independently verify the claims. The Houthis have reportedly denied that Mokha had fallen.