Cairo: The Yemeni government Monday dismissed as false claims by Iran-allied Al Houthi militants that they have made big military gains in a recent operation near the border with Saudi Arabia.
Al Houthis alleged on Sunday they had captured more than 2,000 fighters and massive weaponry from an Arab alliance fighting them in a large-scale offensive near the Saudi border region of Najiran.
“Houthis militia propagates false victories to cover its political &military quagmire &isolation, raise its fighters low morale, claiming its ability to achieve victory on ground, continue proxy war in favor of masters in Tehran,” Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al Eryani tweeted in English.
He added that months ago, the militants attempted to besiege government battalions in the Yemeni district of Kitaf in the province of Saada near the Saudi border, but with air support from the Arab alliance the attempt was foiled and the militants were routed.
“Iranian-backed Houthis militia used in its allegations stock of video footage and POW to fabricate a failed attack few months ago,” Al Eryani added.
He said that the extremists have suffered heavy casualties and hardware losses on different fronts over the past months.
Al Houthis’ allegations came two weeks after they claimed a drone attack on Saudi oil facilities that disrupted the kingdom’s oil production.
Saudi Arabia and the US blamed Iran for the attack that raised global fears of the flow of oil supplies.
Yemen’s conflict erupted after Al Houthis unseated the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and overran parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a, in December 2014.
In 2015, the Arab alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, 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.
