[AA.TR] Yemen’s Shia Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to Americaâ„¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews...
militia group and its allies launched an attack on a military site near the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday, killing a number of government soldiers, sources from both sides of the conflict have said.
Fahman al-Subaihi, a government field commander, said Houthi murderous Moslems and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
had fired a "ballistic missile" at the Shaab al-Jen military camp, which is located near the strategic waterway.
According to al-Subaihi, the missile attack left six government soldiers dead and dozens more injured.
Houthi officials quoted by Yemen’s Houthi-linked SABA press agency said murderous Moslems had fired the missile at a concentration of government troops deployed at the army camp.
The press agency quoted an unnamed Houthi military source as saying that "dozens" of government personnel had been killed and injured by the missile strike.
In a related development, Saudi-led coalition warplanes reportedly struck a number of sites affiliated with the Houthis and their allies in the city of Dhobab and the al-Jadid area -- including the al-Omary army camp -- in the southwestern Taiz province near Aden.
According to local sources, the
More from Asharq Al-Awsat: Army Forces Advance in Yemen
Taiz- Clashes between pro-government forces and insurgency militias in Yemen’s northern province Saada intensified as Yemeni army forces , backed by Arab Coalition air power made significant advances retaking grounds and strategic locations, cutting the passageway linking Saada a to the insurgency-run Jawf province.
Insurgency militias are mainly composed of Iran-aligned Houthi coup militias seeking to overturn the rule of law in Yemen that have joined forces with armed loyalists supporting ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The insurgency has sparked a civil war which left Yemen descending to sheer chaos.
Two rounds of subsequent U.N.-backed peace talks failed to resolve the conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed to date and an estimated 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.
Military sources say that army forces successfully staged a retaliatory operation securing a sweeping advance in Saada, in which a Houthi senior leader, Mourad al Shabathi, had been neutralized by an Arab Coalition airstrike Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, army artillery continues pounding insurgency militia pits in Sirwah considered the most important economic and political center in prehistoric Yemen. The location is a logistic gain that insurgency groups hold on to fiercely.
As for Beihan, located in the Shabwa province, army forces took control of new sites formerly controlled by coup militias after fighting fierce and violent battles over the course of several days.
Military sources said that the units backed by popular resistance managed to free the mountain range overlooking the valley Beihan through which militias supply routes pass to As Safra District, a local armed forces media outlet reported.
Saudi-led Arab Coalition air forces launched a series of intense strikes on insurgency camps in multiple provinces, namely Shabwa, Taiz and Hodeidah, Marib.
In Taiz, army forces regained control of new western positions by ambushing insurgency local strongholds.
Coup militias on the other hand continue sniping down and bombarding civilians and in different parts of Taiz. A young Yemeni girl, Siham Mohammed, being the latest victim of insurgency cruelty. Many other civilian injuries have also been accounted for after insurgency militias attacked a crowd of children and parents exiting a school on the 30th St.(west of an air defense camp), local sources said.
Arab Coalition airstrikes also targeted militia positions west of Usaylan District resulting in the death and injury of dozens of the coup militants, the destruction of five crews and two rocket launchers.