...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...
i government forces and the country's Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...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 legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. 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 JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels attacking the key central city of Marib killed a senior military commander on Monday, officials said.
The development is a big blow to the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government, which have been fighting for months against the Iranian-backed Houthis' attempt to take Marib. The Houthis launched an offensive earlier this year on the city in an effort to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen.
Maj. Gen. Nasser al-Zubiani, who headed military operations of the government's armed forces, was killed on the front line in the Balaq mountain range, south of the city of Marib, said the two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Al-Zubiani was inspecting government troops and allied tribal fighters trying to stave off the Houthi attack at the time. Government forces had earlier advanced a few kilometers (miles) following fierce battles south of the city, one of the officials said.
The rebels stepped up attacks on Marib in recent weeks, sending waves of fighters to try and breach government defenses. Hundreds died in the festivities, mostly rebels, the official added.
A Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting on the side of the government forces, said it launched at least 35
...
KABOOM!...
s on rebel positions around Marib over the weekend, killing at least 200 Houthis. At least three more airstrikes hit the rebels in Yemen's western coast, it said.
The Houthi offensive on Marib came as they suffered blows elsewhere in the country. Last month, government forces took the district of Hays and a major highway linking the contested port city of Hodeida with the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.