[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Thirty-two combatants were killed on Wednesday in the battle for a key coastal town in western Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
between government forces and 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 America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews...
militias, officials said.
The deaths occurred as forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Masnour Hadi advanced into neighborhoods of Mokha and Houthis retreated to northern and western parts of the town, military sources said.
Loyalists backed by the Arab coalition entered the strategic port town in late January as part of their efforts to drive the militias away from the Red Sea coast.
The festivities on Wednesday killed 24 Houthis, including 12 whose bodies were taken a hospital in Mokha, medical officials said.
The other 12 were militias whose remains were found by advancing troops and later buried in Mokha, a loyalist military official said.
Eight soldiers were killed, military and medical officials said.
Mokha was Yemen’s main port serving as its export hub for coffee until it was overtaken by Aden and Hodeida in the 19th century.