Yemeni Army Retaliates in Sana’a, Launches Ballistic Missiles

Local Editor

The Yemeni army’s missile units pounded the Saudi-paid militias’ positions in the capital Sana’a on Friday.

The Saudi forces’ positions in Malah region of Sana’a came under attack by the Yemeni army’s home-made ballistic Zalzal-2 missile, an army source said.

"It was a precision missile strike and hit the target," the source said, without mentioning the damage and toll inflicted on the Saudi forces.

The development came after a prominent analyst said that the Yemeni forces are developing their missile power to target Riyadh and Dubai in the future.

"The Yemeni forces have increased their missile and military capabilities and expanded the range of their military operations against the enemies," Seyed Sadeq al-Sharafi said.

Noting that continued war in Yemen will further complicate the situation of the Saudis and make the Yemeni forces stronger, he said, "The range of the army and popular committees’ missiles has increased to hit targets in Jeddah, meaning that they are likely to hit targets in Riyadh and beyond as well as Dubai and other sensitive regions soon in future."

Sharafi expressed confidence that the balance of power is changing and the Saudis’ failure is imminent, and said, "The Saudis are moving towards full collapse, while the Yemeni nation is going towards victory and gaining more power in the military and defense fields."

His remarks came after the Yemeni army and popular forces launched a Borkan-1 (Volcano-1) ballistic missile attack from Saada province to a Saudi Airbase in Jeddah late in October.

Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a Borkan-1 missile towards King Abdulaziz International Airport, located 19 kilometers North of the Western Saudi port city of Jeddah, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, later told the official Saba news agency that the 12.5-meter-long missile had hit its target accurately and left massive destruction at the airport.

Saudi media outlets, however, reported that the kingdom’s missile systems intercepted and destroyed the solid propellant and Scud-type missile before it could cause any damage.

They said the projectile was launched at 9 p.m. local time on Thursday from Yemen’s mountainous Northwestern area of Saada.

The Saudi military also claimed that the Yemeni missile was fired toward the holy city of Mecca, but the Ansarullah movement rejected the claim.

An informed Ansarullah source said that the missile was aimed at King Abdulaziz International Airport close to Jeddah, which hosts the kingdom’s royal forces.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 12,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team