Published 19:50 IST, September 13th 2020
Saudi coalition launches airstrikes on Iran backed Houthi barracks and military sites
At least four Houthi drones at Al-Delmi air base north of Sanaa were destroyed. However, the Saudi coalition did not immediately comment on the airstrikes.
On September 12, Saudi Arabian-led coalition fighter jets launched an attack on the barracks and military sites of the Iran-backed armed Houthi movement in Yemen's capital Sanaa, according to a Saudi-run Al-Arabiya report. At least four Houthi drones at Al-Delmi air base north of Sanaa were destroyed. However, the coalition did not immediately issue a statement about the airstrikes on two sites in Sanaa. Meanwhile, Houthis claimed that the fighter jets attacked its key bases in the Saudi capital Riyadh with ballistic missiles. Earlier, the Yemeni army had shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in Al Hudaydah province, saying, the drone was sent by the Houthi rebels to forces in Ad Durayhimi district, army’s al-Amalika Brigade revealed in a statement.
Having accused the Houthis of disruption peace efforts with military operations, the Saudi-led military coalition has launched devastating air campaigns against the Houthi territorial claims ever since the escalation of the crisis in 2015. Last month, at least eleven Yemeni government troops, including a senior officer, were killed in the northeast and east of the capital Sanaa after a rebel missile attack was launched in the region. State media reported that the commander of the army's 122 Brigade and 8 soldiers were killed in Al-Jawf province in an attempt to claim their strategic positions. In the recent airstrikes, the coalition confirmed that the fighter jets entered Riyadh, where they intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and explosive drones, it, however, did not officially confirm the ballistic missile attack on the capital.
Meanwhile, Houthi-run Saba news agency reported 11 air raids launched by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa to dismantle the positions of the Houthi rebel forces. Of the total 11 raids, five airstrikes launched a deadly attack on the Sanaa airport, while the rest hit northern and central parts of the city, an armed forces official informed the Sana agency on condition of anonymity. No casualties have been officially identified yet.
According to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya media network, a formation of fighter jets launched missiles, destroying the al-Delmi airbase north of Sanaa completely. Last month, a Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen’s government foiled two major attacks after an explosives-laden boat by Iran backed rebels was intercepted in the international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The blast from the remotely controlled boat had killed 8 civilians, AP news agency sources confirmed in a report.
[Office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani, center, heads a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran]
Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said in a statement that Houthi attempted a “terrorist attack that threatens commercial shipping routes in the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait, used for oil shipments from the Gulf to Europe, as well as goods from Asia to Europe.”
Saudi and UAE military ships targeted
Later, the coalition intercepted the explosives carrying drone at Abha international airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Armed forces personnel told the sources of state-run Al Arabia news agency that the blast resonated at the coastal city of Midi, and at least five coalition vessels were completely destroyed. Yemeni security forces told the agency sources on condition of anonymity as they were prohibited to speak with the media, that Houthis have targeted Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates partnered military ships, however, the explosives were retrieved by the coalition troops.
Updated 19:50 IST, September 13th 2020