Yemeni army forces announced the killing of a top Houthi leader alongside a number of companion militiamen in a raid conducted by the Arab Coalition east of Hodeidah. Houthi attempts to infiltrate National Army outposts west of Taiz were also thwarted. The Saudi-led Arab Coalition is backing the Yemeni freely-elected government headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi against Iran-backed militias staging a nationwide coup. At least 20 militiamen were killed in Taiz battlefronts, an army statement said. “A senior Houthi leader, Colonel Ali Ahmad al-Muwadi, formerly operating under the alias Abu Muqaddam, was killed alongside 14 of his companions in an air raid by Arab Coalition air forces in Hodeidah,” the army’s Giant Brigades said in a statement posted on Facebook. “The raid targeted barracks and Houthi militia concentrations aiming to establish a new supply route for reinforcements to back Hodeidah positions,” the statement added. National Army forces in Taiz continue to thwart coup infiltration attempts in the area. Meanwhile, Yemeni Vice President and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Yemeni Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, renewed the army pledge to raise the national flag over the mountains of Maran, a Houthi stronghold. Lt-.Gen. Al-Ahmar’s remarks follow Yemenis commemorating the 56 anniversary of 26 September in six districts of Saada governorate for the first time since it was controlled by the Houthi militias. These celebrations were organized after the government-controlled Yemeni army undertaking efforts to liberate some areas of Saada, the birthplace of the Houthi coup leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Units of the Yemeni army participated in these celebrations, vowing to liberate all of Saada governorate. September 26 is celebrated as Revolution Day celebrating the Norths revolution against the imams.