Yemen: Hundreds of Houthis Killed, Injured in Saada

A Houthi follower holds up his rifle in Sanaa May 8, 2015.REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A Houthi follower holds up his rifle in Sanaa May 8, 2015.REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Yemen: Hundreds of Houthis Killed, Injured in Saada

A Houthi follower holds up his rifle in Sanaa May 8, 2015.REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A Houthi follower holds up his rifle in Sanaa May 8, 2015.REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Yemen’s National Army forces have made further advances at the Marran front of Saada governorate, the main stronghold of Houthi militias, as part of preparations for its full liberation.

A military source said that during the clashes, about 400 Houthis were killed and injured in Marran.

Military website “SeptemberNet” reported that in the past two days, militants have launched five attacks to retrieve strategic sites which they had lost during previous battles.

SeptemberNet quoted a military source in Orouba third brigade as saying that, backed by the Coalition to Support the Legitimacy, the brigade foiled all Houthi attacks in Razih, Marran, and Ghafra, as well as assaults from Dhamar and Bani Matar, leaving about 400 insurgents dead and injured.

Local sources in Harf Sufyan, in Amran district, confirmed that the Army’s artillery and Coalition fighters will continue to target any reinforcements sent to the coup militia in Marran.

SeptemberNet quoted the head of operations of Orouba 3rd brigade, Brigadier General Zayed al-Gharabi, as saying that his “forces carried out an attack on Houthi posts, causing heavy losses.”

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi urgently summoned a number of his leaders to Marran to find ways in defending the region, noted SeptemberNet.

Meanwhile, battles intensified in Taiz after militias bombed Haifan road linking Taiz with Aden.

The Houthis have significantly enhanced their positions on Haifan front in an attempt to regain bases liberated by the Army four days ago, according to a popular resistance source.

The source told Asharq al-Awsat that al-Abous area has in recent hours witnessed the most violent clashes. He confirmed that Houthis destroyed Daan bridge in al-Athir area of Haifan, a vital road linking Taiz with Aden through Haifan.

National armed forces retook control over new areas in the district of Maweah southeast of Taiz following fierce battles with the insurgents on Sunday.

The Army launched fierce attacks against Houthi positions in the south of Maweah, resulting in the liberation of al-Mahanah and al-Kharabah areas.

Several Houthi militiamen were killed and wounded during the battles, the media center of the National Army quoted a military source as saying.

Earlier, the Army liberated Hawamra and al-Hasham in Azlat-Ashur, bringing the total number of areas recaptured from the Houthis to four. The Army continued to advance in attempts for the full liberation of Maweah directorate.



Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Italian police said Saturday that they have arrested seven people suspected of raising millions of euros for Palestinian group Hamas.

Police also issued international arrests for two others outside the country, said AFP.

Three associations, officially supporting Palestinian civilians but allegedly serving as a front for funding Hamas, are implicated in the investigation, said a police statement.

The nine individuals are accused of having financed approximately seven million euros ($8 million) to "associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas."

While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations "for humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people," more than 71 percent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas" or entities affiliated with the movement, according to police.

Some of the money went to "family members implicated in terrorist attacks," the statement said.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posted on X that the operation "lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations."


Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.


Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
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Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)

A source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the talks with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over their integration into state institutions “have not yielded tangible results.”

Discussions about merging the northeastern institutions into the state remain “hypothetical statements without execution,” it told Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Repeated assertions over Syria’s unity are being contradicted by the reality on the ground in the northeast, where the Kurds hold sway and where administrative, security and military institutions continue to be run separately from the state, it added.

The situation “consolidates the division” instead of addressing it, it warned.

It noted that despite the SDF’s continued highlighting of its dialogue with the Syrian state, these discussions have not led to tangible results.

It seems that the SDF is using this approach to absorb the political pressure on it, said the source. The truth is that there is little actual will to move from discussion to application of the March 10 agreement.

This raises doubts over the SDF’s commitment to the deal, it stressed.

Talk about rapprochement between the state and SDF remains meaningless if the agreement is not implemented on the ground within a specific timeframe, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the continued deployment of armed formations on the ground that are not affiliated with the Syrian army are evidence that progress is not being made.

The persistence of the situation undermines Syria’s sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore stability, it warned.