Yemen Army and allies conduct live fire exercise codenamed ‘Countering US Terrorism’

Pro-Saleh forces (likely Republican Guard) of the Yemen Army and allied national militias have conducted a live fire military exercise at a undisclosed location in Yemen. The maneuver was codenamed ‘Continuing to Counter US Terrorism’ and appears to be as much of a political statement as it is a military test.

In the video, pro-Saleh forces practice their shooting skills on a ridge-line that has various targets marked with US flags. A range of basic small arms including Kalashnikov assault rifles, PKM medium machine guns and RPG-7s are used in against these objects.

Based on the footage shown, the exercise also involves the demonstration of platoon-level coordination in assaulting and capturing enemy high-ground (again represented by the ridge-line with US flag-marked targets).

The exercise concludes with pro-Saleh forces scaling their way up the ridge to a sandbag fortification bearing an Israeli flag. After chatting a commonly known anti-US and anti-Israeli slogan used by pro-Saleh forces, the soldiers blow up the aforementioned fortification with explosives placed beforehand.

Pro-Saleh forces are currently engaged in a protracted war on Yemeni territory and in parts of southwestern Saudi Arabia against a range of enemies including the Hadi regime which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State.