Arab Coalition jets step up attacks on Saada

Arab coalition warplanes intensified their attacks on the Northern Yemeni province of Saada near the border with Saudi Arabia on Saturday as their troops continued to advance on the ground towards the capital Sanaa, the Houthi’s main stronghold.

Several coalition jets launched strikes through Saada, targeting positions held by the Iranian-backed Houthis and forces loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

“The strikes targeted several positions and military camps held by the Houthis and Saleh’s forces in Saada,” said a report by Yemen’s Masdar Online website.

It quoted military sources as saying the attacks also targeted a power station in the rebel-controlled Qahza town in Saada and that smoke was seen billowing from it.

The coalition jets also targeted Kahlan military camp in the town while other warplanes attacked rebel positions in other areas in the city, the report said.

“The air strikes by the coalition forces were intensive on Saturday. They coincided with ground confrontations between the rebels and the Saudi troops,” it said.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s legitimate national army units foiled an attempt by the rebels on Saturday to blow up a key gas line stretching from the central province of Marib to the Southern Belhaf port in Shabwa province, a senior military official said.

“We have discovered pits nearly two metres deep in Shabwa. We discovered dynamite and other explosives in those pits and dismantled them.

“They were placed there by the rebels to blow up the gas line in that area,” he told Masdar Online.
 

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