Manama: The sound of artillery over camps run by the Iran-backed Al Houthi group on the outskirts of Saada signals the time for the Yemeni people to welcome the National Army, Turki Al Maliki, the spokesperson for Arab coalition, said as he spoke of the military advances.
Addressing media and military attachés late on Monday, Al Maliki gave an update on the latest military advances, including liberation of territory in the Saada governorate, and successful de-mining operations in the Red Sea.
He confirmed that coalition operations in Sana’a had targeted the Al Houthi leadership.
“Today, the coalition targeted the Presidential palace in Sana’a. Our intelligence confirmed information that first and second tier leadership of the Iranian-backed Al Houthi militia was targeted. Our air strikes were carried out in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and targeting principles of the Law of Armed Conflict,” he said.
The air strikes killed 37 Al Houthis. The raids targeted militia positions in the Red Sea Coast.
Attacks in the past 48 hours crippled Al Houthi military capabilities, and targeted military sites in Ras Al Katheeb and the Al Jah areas in the Directorate of Hussainiya. In addition, the strikes destroyed military vehicles and reinforcements in the Al Jaruba and Qutay’ in the Al Marawi’ah district.
A large-scale military operation is being carried out by the coalition, with the support of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Mokha-Al Bareh junction west of Taiz province to take control of new areas from the militias, in an effort to continue the liberation of and secure the Red Sea Coast, and lift the siege west of Taiz.
The spokesperson also reported a high-ranking Saudi military delegation visited the island of Socotra, met the Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmad Obeid Bin Daghr and members of the local government, and agreed to implement a joint, comprehensive mechanism of cooperation.
Meanwhile, in response to reports about a Qatari individual detained in Yemen, Al Maliki said the person in question is a Yemeni citizen, regardless of any other citizenship he might hold.
He was apprehended in Yemen and is therefore subject to Yemeni law, Al Maliki added.
Last week, reports emerged about the arrest of a man, believed to be a Qatari citizen, on suspicions that he was providing support to the Al Houthi militias fighting the legitimate government in the country.
Yemeni authorities named the suspect as Mohsen Al Karbi and said he was on his way out of Yemen through Shan in the Mahra Governorate, the border crossing checkpoint between Yemen and Oman.
Sources in Yemen said that Al Karbi was a major in the Qatari intelligence.
