https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...es-yemeni-military-parade-killing-six-people/
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- Raf Sanchez, Middle East correspondent
Houthi rebels used an explosive-packed drone to target Yemen’s military leaders at an army parade on Thursday, killing six soldiers and wounding several senior officers.
The Iranian-backed rebels detonated the drone above a ceremonial dais, spraying Yemeni officers with shrapnel and causing the ceremony to dissolve into chaos.
The attack showed a surprising level of sophistication for the Houthi rebels and is likely to further undermine UN efforts to broker a peace deal to end the Yemen’s brutal four-year war.
Video of the attack showed the drone screeching down from the cloudy sky and exploding a few metres above the dais where Yemeni officers were watching the military parade. Six soldiers were killed in the blast.
Ahmed al-Turki, governor of Lahj province, was wounded in the attack along with several senior military and intelligence officers. General Abdullah al-Nakhi, the army chief of staff, was at the parade but appears to have escaped unarmed.
The attack took place near the al-Anad airbase outside Aden, deep inside government held territory in southern Yemen.
Nick Waters, an analyst with Bellingcat investigative website, said the Houthi drone appeared to be based on an Iranian Ababil T drone. It was not clear if the drone was supplied by Iran or constructed by the Houthis based on an Iranian design.
“This appears to have been a well-planned and well-executed attack,” Mr Waters said. “They were targeting the high-value individuals on that dais and they hit the dais, not the parade area around it.”
The drone was likely launched from hundreds of miles away in Houthi-controlled territory and brought down on top of its target using GPS coordinates, rather than being steered by an operator.
The Houthis’ success in bringing the drone down in the middle of the military parade suggests they had specific intelligence about the timings and locations of the ceremony, Mr Waters said.
Several people were wounded in the attack Credit: NABIL HASAN/AFP/Getty Images
The rebel group has previously attempted similar drone attacks against Saudi radar stations used to launch Patriot missiles.
Moammar al-Eryani, Yemen’s information minister, said the attack was evidence that the Houthis were not serious about making a peace agreement.
"Once again this proves that the Houthi criminal militias are not ready for peace and that they are exploiting truces in order for deployment and reinforcements,” he said.
The UN brokered a ceasefire around the key port of Hodeidah in December. The ceasefire has largely held, despite infractions by both sides.
However, Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy for Yemen, warned this week that “substantial progress” was need before full-blown negotiations could be launched on ending the civil war.
"Both sides have largely adhered to the ceasefire and there has been a significant decrease in hostilities,” Mr Griffiths told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
A new meeting is to be held in the Jordanian capital Amman next week to follow up on a huge prisoner swap agreed by the warring parties last month.
https://mil.news.sina.com.cn/jssd/2019-01-11/doc-ihqfskcn6233889.shtml
伊朗无人机成功突袭美阵营阅兵式：最高将领当场中弹
伊朗无人机成功突袭美阵营阅兵式：最高将领当场中弹
145
伊朗盟友胡塞武装与美国盟友阿拉伯联军的停火突然被打破，阿拉伯半岛国家也门举行的阅兵式遭到无人机空袭，包括最高军事指挥官在内的多名将领当场中弹。据法新社1月10日报道，也门政府军当天在该国南部拉赫季省的安德军事基地举行阅兵，数量不明的无人机突然出现在主看台上空，并对准几十名高级指挥官聚集的地方发起自杀式爆炸袭击，造成至少6人死亡、12人受伤。
据悉，也门军队总参谋长阿卜杜拉∙纳西中将及其副手萨利赫∙辛达尼少将、军事情报局局长萨利赫∙塔马赫少将和塔比特∙贾瓦斯少将等均在袭击中受伤。胡塞武装控制的电视台其后证实，该武装空军无人机对安德军事基地的“占领者和爪牙”实施了攻击。消息人士称，爆炸导致阅兵现场一片混乱，大批士兵争先恐后地将伤者送上军车运到医院接受急救。由于在场的最高级别指挥官几乎全部受伤倒下，进一步加剧了军队的恐慌。
也门政府与胡塞武装于去年12月达成停火协议，双方同意交换战俘，将荷台达（包括港口）控制权交由第三方接管。联合国于今年1月8日决定，向荷台达派遣至多75名观察员，以监督也门停火和交战各方军队的重新部署。然而，联合国也门问题特使格里菲思对停火现状极为担忧，他在无人机空袭发生前一天刚刚警告，胡塞武装、也门政府军和沙特主导的阿拉伯联军地面行动和部署并未按停火协议要求重新调整。
胡塞武装10日出动无人机突袭也门军队阅兵式，是在时隔数月后首次主动发起远程对地打击。自去年9月沙特等十国联军对荷台达发起总攻之后，胡塞武装依托超过40公里长的钢筋水泥防线顽强抵抗。虽然直到停火协议签订时十国联军和也门军队仍未攻进荷台达市区一步，但胡塞武装的海上和陆地补给线却被掐断，远程对地打击武器日渐枯竭，一直没能像过去几年那样以弹道导弹、制导火箭弹和无人机攻击联军和也门政府军后方。
沙特、美国等国家多次指责伊朗向胡塞武装提供大量导弹、无人机和其他制导武器。伊朗对此一概否认，反而称胡塞武装拥有伊朗制造武器的“罪魁祸首”正是也门政府，因为在该国内战爆发前，时任也门总统从伊朗购买了价值上亿美元的武器弹药。但无论通过哪种方式获得，胡塞武装大量使用伊朗武器装备却是不争的事实。该武装不但对沙特首都发动过超远程导弹攻击，还多次出动伊朗造快艇袭击沙特的石油运输港口和油轮。
此次胡塞武装竟以自杀式无人机成功偷袭也门最高军事长官出席的阅兵式，无论是战术还是无人机都可谓一战成名。从目前报道来看，也门军队在遇袭后完全陷入慌乱之中，并没有立刻对阅兵现场周边地区展开搜查。这可能令在地面控制无人机飞行和攻击的胡塞武装人员完成任务后全身而退。更关键的是，胡塞武装通过这次袭击再次表现出绝不会放弃抵抗的决心。
在放弃唯一与国外保持联系的荷台达港后，胡塞武装将完全困守在靠近沙特的也门萨那地区，如果还不肯放弃战斗，如何保证持续获得武器弹药和物资补给会是最大问题。沙特主导的阿拉伯联军由于受到美国和欧洲国家的巨大压力，也不太可能继续在也门大打出手。所以接下来也门战争可能回归真正的“内战”，最终还是得走上和解道路，因为仅凭也门政府军自己是很难消灭胡塞武装的。（作者署名：百战刀军情视点）
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/houthi-drones-kill-several-at-yemeni-military-parade
Houthi drones kill several at Yemeni military parade
Published
Jan 11, 2019, 12:39 am SGT
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ADEN (REUTERS) - Drones belonging to the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement on Thursday (Jan 10) attacked a Yemeni government military parade in the southern province of Lahaj, killing several people, Saudi and Houthi media reported.
The attack comes as the United Nations tries to get peace talks going between the Houthis who control northern Yemen and the Saudi-backed government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi by overseeing a limited ceasefire in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
The parade was taking place inside a military base in al-Anad district when an explosion rocked the area, eyewitnesses said.
They said high-ranking officers including Yemen's deputy chief of staff had been wounded.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said five people had been killed and several injured.
Houthi Al-Masirah TV said the attack had been aimed at "the leadership of the invaders".
A military source said the focus of the attack had been the podium where senior officers were sitting.
It was unclear if officers were present from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, leaders of a Sunni Muslim Arab coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore Hadi's government, which had been ousted from the capital Sanaa in 2014.
The Houthis said in November they were halting drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their Yemeni allies, but tensions have risen recently over how to implement the UN-sponsored deal in Hodeidah.
The Houthis and the Saudi-backed government agreed to stop fighting and withdraw forces at peace talks in Sweden in December following months of diplomacy and Western pressure.
The ceasefire only applies to Hodeidah province but the British ambassador to Yemen, Michael Aron, tweeted on Thursday that an escalation anywhere in Yemen "goes against the spirit of the Stockholm agreement".
Implementation of the deal, the first breakthrough in peace efforts in five years, has stalled as the sides disagree on who will control the city of Hodeidah after the withdrawal.
Yemen descended into war after pro-democracy unrest forced late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
Hadi was elected to head a transitional government but after the Houthis took Sanaa he went into exile in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis deny getting any help from Iran and say they are waging a revolution against corruption.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46822429
Yemen soldiers killed in Houthi drone attack on base
- 10 January 2019
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Media captionDrone explodes above a podium where officials were watching a military parade at al-Anad base in Yemen.
A drone attack on a Yemeni government base by the rebel Houthi movement has reportedly killed six soldiers.
The drone exploded above a podium at al-Anad base, in the southern province of Lahj, where high-ranking officers and officials were watching a parade.
Medics said army deputy chief of staff Gen Saleh al-Zindani and Lahj governor Ahmed al-Turki were among those hurt.
A Houthi-run TV channel said the rebels had targeted personnel from the Saudi-led coalition backing the government.
The attack threatens to derail UN peace efforts, which last month saw both sides agree to a ceasefire around the lifeline Red Sea port of Hudaydah, which is crucial to the delivery of aid supplies.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Soldiers scrambled to carry wounded comrades to military vehicles
A Houthi military source told Al-Masirah TV that Thursday's attack targeted "invaders" - an apparent reference to coalition personnel - and "mercenaries" at al-Anad, which which is about 60km (40 miles) north of the second city of Aden.
It was carried out after "careful monitoring of gatherings and movements" at the base, he added.
Video footage of the incident showed the drone approaching the parade ground rapidly and at low altitude before exploding above the covered VIP podium.
"It was a very strong explosion and we could feel the pressure," local journalist Nabil al-Qaiti, who was at the parade, told the Associated Press.
"The drone was packed with explosives," he added.
Medics at the Ibn Khaldoun hospital in the nearby city of Houta told AFP news agency that six soldiers were killed and 12 people were injured in the attack.
They said the wounded include Gen Zindani, Mr Turki, intelligence chief Brig-Gen Mohammed Saleh Tamah, and senior army commander Fadel Hasan.
Chief of staff Gen Abdullah al-Nakhi was also at the base when the drone struck, but there are conflicting reports about whether he was hurt.
It was not immediately clear if any coalition military officials were present.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Medics said the army's deputy chief of staff and the governor of Lahj province were wounded
Later, Houthi military spokesman Gen Yehia Sari announced that a new kind of drone had been used.
The Qasef-2K, he added, was designed to blow up about 20m (65ft) off the ground, sending shrapnel towards a target.
Saudi-owned TV channels described the drone as "Iranian made".
Iran has denied supplying weapons to the rebels. But a UN panel of experts said last year that the Houthis' Qasef-1 drone was "virtually identical in design, dimensions, and capability" to Iran's Ababil-T drone.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani tweeted that "the crime of targeting the base will not go unanswered".
The attack, he added, showed the Houthis did "not believe in the language of peace" and "only understand the language of weapons".
Image copyright AFP Image caption Saudi-owned TV channels described the drone as Iranian made, without offering evidence
The attack comes a day after the UN special envoy to Yemen said the warring parties had largely stuck to the ceasefire around Hudaydah.
However, Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council that "substantial progress" was needed before further talks could be held on ending the war.
Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in early 2015, when the Houthis seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad.
Alarmed by the rise of a group they saw as an Iranian proxy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government.
At least 6,800 civilians have been killed and 10,700 injured in the fighting, according to the UN. Thousands more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health.
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