Tags: yemen saudi arabia soldiers killed houthis war

Soldier with Yemen's Exiled Government Opens Fire, Killing 2 Saudi Troops and Wounding Another

Soldier with Yemen's Exiled Government Opens Fire, Killing 2 Saudi Troops and Wounding Another

Saturday, 09 November 2024 10:00 PM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A soldier for Yemen’s exiled government opened fire on Saudi troops as they exercised in eastern Yemen, killing two of them and wounding another in a rare insider attack during the kingdom's nearly decadelong war there, officials said Saturday.

The assault in eastern Hadramawt province comes as a yearslong cease-fire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels largely has held despite the militants' ongoing attacks against shipping in the Red Sea corridor. While the Houthis did not claim the attack, at least one Houthi official praised it as being “the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders.”

Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed new airstrikes targeting the rebel-held capital of Sanaa, likely carried out by the United States after the militants likely shot down yet-another American reconnaissance drone over the country.

The attack took place Friday night in Seiyun, a city some 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of Sanaa. As troops worked out at a Saudi-led base there, the soldier opened fire, killing an officer and a noncommissioned officer, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing a military statement.

“The Joint Forces Command underscores that this ‘Lone Wolf’ cowardly attack does not represent the honorable members of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense,” the statement added. The dead and the other wounded Saudi solider have been brought back to the kingdom, it added.

Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen's successionist Southern Transitional Council, identified the soldier who carried out the attack as belonging to the First Military Region, which is based out of Seiyun.

Police in the area published pictures of the soldier, saying there was a 30-million-Yemeni-rial reward for information leading to the soldier's arrest. That's worth around $15,000 on the black market.

Authorities offered no motive for the attack. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the militant group's Yemen branch, long has operated around Hadramawt. However, the group did not immediately claim the attack. A recent United Nations expert report has said that the al-Qaida group and the Houthis have begun to “coordinate operations directly with each other."

The Houthis meanwhile did not claim the attack either. However, Houthi official Hamid Rizq praised the attack in a message on the social platform X, claiming it came from “the feeling of oppression” over Saudi troops being stationed in the area.

“The heroic operation is the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders,” Rizq wrote.

Yemen has been mired in a decadelong war since the Houthis swept into Sanaa from their northern strongholds in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on behalf of Yemen's exiled government in 2015. The war further internationalized, with Iran backing the Houthis with weapons and support that cemented the conflict into a yearslong stalemate.

The war has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more. A cease-fire that expired in October 2022 largely has held in the time since, however, even as the Houthis have seized on the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

On Saturday night, Houthi-run media reported suspected U.S. airstrikes targeting areas around Sanaa. The rebels offered no immediate damage assessment from the strikes, which previously have targeted radar stations, military bases and drone and missile launch sites.

___

Associated Press writer Baraa Anwer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


GlobalTalk
A soldier for Yemen's exiled government opened fire on Saudi troops as they exercised in eastern Yemen, killing two of them and wounding another in a rare insider attack during the kingdom's nearly decadelong war there, officials said Saturday.The assault in eastern...
yemen saudi arabia soldiers killed houthis war
571
2024-00-09
Saturday, 09 November 2024 10:00 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
 
TOP

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved