“In June alone, the Iran-aligned Shiite Houthis launched at least 20 missile and drone attacks” against Saudi Arabia, reports AFP.
By World Israel News Staff
“From ballistic missiles to unmanned drones, Yemen’s Houthi rebels appear to have bolstered their fighting capabilities,” posing a serious threat to neighboring Saudi Arabia, writes the AFP news agency.
“In June alone, the Iran-aligned Shiite Huthis launched at least 20 missile and drone attacks on the oil-rich kingdom, Iran’s regional foe, some resulting in casualties and damage,” says AFP.
“Saudi advanced air defenses successfully intercepted most of the strikes but failed to deal with some, including a drone attack on the vital airport of Abha, in the south, that killed one person and injured 21 others,” said the report.
“Houthi rebels claimed a drone attack on the King Khalid airbase in southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday,” reports the Anadolu news agency.
In a statement, rebel spokesman Yahya Sarei said the attack targeted radars and military sites at the base in the city of Khamis Mushait, and that “the attack was in response to Saudi-led coalition raids in the past 24 hours,” Anadolu reported.
There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the Houthi claims, Anadolu added.
The Houthi buildup comes as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it was “scaling back” its military role in the four-year war in Yemen that has failed to remove the Houthis from the capital Sana’a, reports Bloomberg.
“According to U.N. figures, Yemen is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 10 million people driven to the brink of famine,” says Anadolu.
The UAE is calling on the rebels to see its withdrawal as an opportunity to end the war.
“The Yemeni parties – the Houthis specifically – should see this move for what it is: a confidence-building measure to create new momentum to end the conflict,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote in the Washington Post on Tuesday.
However, even as the Houthis reinforce themselves, they have also been reportedly raising finances for another Iranian-backed group, Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, and which has fought against Israel.
“Houthi rebels in Yemen have announced that they have raised nearly $300,000 in the latest stage of their campaign for Hezbollah,” reports The National, a London-based news outlet for the Middle East.
“In a video published on Saturday, the director-general of Houthi radio station Sam FM posed with piles of cash as the team [of people alongside him] celebrated raising… $296,000 for the Lebanese militants,” referring to Hezbollah, and shouting: ‘From Yemen’s faith to Lebanon’s Resistance! God is great! Death to America! Death to Israel,’” reported The National.