Saudi ArabiaWest AsiaYemen

Yemeni ballistic missiles haunt Saudi Arabia, senior Ansarullah official says

A member of the politburo of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says homegrown ballistic missiles that the armed forces use in their defense campaign against Saudi Arabia’s military aggression have turned into a nightmare for the kingdom.

Speaking in an interview with Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen television news network on Tuesday, Ali al-Qahoum said the military capabilities of Yemeni armed forces and their allies were susbtantially growing.

“After six years of aggression against Yemen, the House of Saud has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the face of the Yemeni nation’s steadfastness and resilience,” Qahoum said.

He said Yemeni army troops and allied Popular Committees fighters have proven that “they have a wide array of options on the battle ground and can reach strategic facilities,” adding, “Yemeni ballistic missiles have become a nightmare for the enemies.” 

Qahoum then addressed Saudi authorities, saying, “You will never be able to break down the resistance of Yemeni people, and they possess a great deal of options and surprises.”

“If Saudi Arabia presses ahead with its aggression and tyranny, our blood won’t be cheap and the kingdom must accept the justice of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” the senior Ansarullah official said.

Death of senior Saudi military cmdr. cloaked in mystery

Separately, the recent death of a high-ranking Saudi military commander has been shrouded in mystery.

Deceased senior Saudi military commander Major General Ali Zafer al-Shahri (Photo via Twitter)

While some sources claim that Major General Ali Zafer al-Shahri, commander of King Abdullah Air Base in Saudi Arabia’s southern port city of Jeddah, died after falling down the side of a mountain, others say he succumbed to injuries sustained during a recent missile and drone strike by Yemeni forces on targets deep inside Saudi territory.

An unnamed close member of Shahri’s family later denied reports he had lost his life while climbing, saying the Saudi commander had died in a Jeddah hospital.

UAE setting up airbase on Yemeni island of Perim

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly establishing a military base on the strategic Perim volcanic island, also called Mayyun in Arabic, which lies off the southwestern coast of Yemen and in the Strait of Mandeb.

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera television news network reported that UAE’s construction activities on the Perim island comes at the same time that the Persian Gulf state is dismantling its Assab military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Eritrea.

The UAE withdrew all structures and military equipment from the Assab base, situated, only some 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Yemen, to the Yemeni island between December 28 last year and March 2, according to the report.

The report added that the UAE has built an airstrip as long as 1,800 meters on Perim island, and transferred all its combat and surveillance drones from Assab base to the new site.

Backed by the US and a number of other Western states, Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.

The Yemeni armed forces and allied popular groups have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

Back to top button