Al Houthis maintain ‘strong’ links with Al Qaida, Daesh

Riyadh: Yemen’s Iran-allied Al Houthi militants maintain “strong” links with the terrorist Al Qaida and Daesh groups, an Arab alliance official said late Monday.

“This relation has been there since Al Houthis’ coup against legitimacy,” spokesman for the alliance Colonel Turki Al Maliki said in Riyadh, according to the official Saudi news agency SPA.

In late 2014, Al Houthis unseated Yemen’s internationally recognised government and overran parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a, triggering a devastating conflict in the impoverished country.

Last month, the alliance captured the Daesh emir in Yemen, Abu Osama Al Muhajer, and other members of the terrorist group that has claimed several attacks in the country in recent years.

“The coalition troops continue to eliminate Daesh and other terrorist organization whoever they are,” Al Turki said at a press conference.

He accused Iran-supported Al Houthis of violating the international law by targeting civilians and civil facilities in Saudi Arabia and inside Yemen with explosive drones.

“The Iranian weapons and support to the terrorist Al Houthi militia threaten regional and international security,” Al Turki said.

In 2015, an Arab alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, intervened in Yemen in response to a request from the Hadi government after Al Houthis advanced on the southern city of Adan, the country’s provisional capital.

In recent months, Al Houthis have stepped up drone and missile attacks inside Saudi Arabia amid tensions between Iran and the US.