A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Wednesday killed the deputy chief of staff of the country’s military, officials said.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Wednesday killed the deputy chief of staff of the country’s military, officials said.

The SABA news agency, which is controlled by the Houthi militia, said their forces struck the vehicle of Brig. Gen. Ahmed Seif al-Yafie in the Red Sea port of Mokha.

Yemeni military officials said the missile hit a gathering point for the military commanders. A total of seven officers were killed, including al-Yafie, and 25 were wounded, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Abdu Dagher expressed condolences on Twitter after the attack, saying the “end of the enemy is near.”

Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port, witnessed intense fighting between Houthi militia and allied forces loyal to the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and pro-government forces.

Tens of thousands of people were recently displaced from the fighting along the western coastline.