Morocco Opens Investigation into Western Sahara Attacks

Forces loyal to the Polisario Front (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Forces loyal to the Polisario Front (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Morocco Opens Investigation into Western Sahara Attacks

Forces loyal to the Polisario Front (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Forces loyal to the Polisario Front (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Morocco's Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Laayoune said that investigations were opened into a series of explosions that killed one person and injured three others on Saturday in the city of Smara in Western Sahara.

The Public Prosecutor said in a statement that the investigations were entrusted to a team with technical and ballistic expertise to identify the origin and nature of the projectiles.

The projectiles killed one man, injured three others, and also damaged two houses. Two people suffering from severe injuries were transferred to a hospital in Laayoune, west of Smara.

Moroccan al-Yaoum 24 website said the explosions in Smara were caused by the Polisario attacks launched from the Tifariti region, in a dangerous precedent that targeted residential neighborhoods.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Moroccan sources said that the Polisario Front is "playing with fire" by targeting civilians, describing its actions as a "cowardly act of terrorism."

Meanwhile, the Sahara Press Service, affiliated with the Polisario Front, said its units targeted Moroccan forces in the al-Mahbas sector, causing heavy losses.

The Ministry of National Defense issued a military communique stating that advanced units of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army targeted Moroccan soldiers in Akrara el-Fersik and el-Shadimia.

Morrocan forces were also targeted in the Mahbes sector.

The source stated that the Front's militias focused their attacks earlier, targeting Moroccan forces' positions in the Smara and Mahbas.



US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
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US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi group at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified, reported The Associated Press.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and "three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
Houthi attacks for months have targeted shipping through a waterway where $1 trillion in goods pass annually over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon. A ceasefire was announced last week.
The USS Stockdale was involved in a similar attack on Nov. 12.