Yemenis Wrest Control of Several Villages in Saudi Arabia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemen’s army forces and allied fighters from Popular Committees seized several villages in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border province of Jizan amid Riyadh’s relentless military aggression against Yemen.
On Thursday, Yemeni forces gained control over the al-Qarn and Dafinah villages in al-Khobe district, located 967 kilometers (601 miles) southwest of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, following fierce exchanges of gunfire with Saudi troops there, a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, the official Saba news agency reported.
They also managed to wrest control over a number of villages located in eastern parts of al-Bahtit military base.
During the clashes, tens of Saudi soldiers were killed or injured and six of their armored vehicles, including two Abrams tanks, destroyed, the source said.
The Yemeni troops also succeeded in seizing control of strategic al-Khobe road in Jizan, blocking roads connecting Qaem Zobayd district to al-Abadiya area.
The attack came in response to the continued aggression by Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies against Yemen, which started in March 2015.
The Saudi-led coalition has been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in the past year and a half in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Nearly 10,000 Yemenis, including 4,000 women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.
