Tariq Saleh Calls for United Front against Houthis

Brigadier General Tareq Saleh. Asharq Al-Awsat
Brigadier General Tareq Saleh. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Tariq Saleh Calls for United Front against Houthis

Brigadier General Tareq Saleh. Asharq Al-Awsat
Brigadier General Tareq Saleh. Asharq Al-Awsat

Brigadier General Tareq Saleh, the nephew of slain President Ali Abdullah Saleh, urged on Sunday all forces fighting on Yemeni fronts to turn their weapons against Houthi militias, dissipating rumors that his fighters on the west coast were not unified.

In his first statement since his escape from militia captivity and since his forces united in the fight against Houthis on the west coast, Saleh called on all soldiers and security forces operating under the orders of rebels to join the fronts of the legitimacy in Maareb, Saadah, Sanaa, Hijjah, the west coast and others.

Saleh pledged to root out Houthi insurgents from all Yemeni territories, including Sanaa.

He also lashed out at Secretary General of Lebanon’s “Hezbollah” Hassan Nasrallah, describing him as an “insurgent.”

He said that Israel, which the Houthis have pledged to fight, is located near “Hezbollah” and not on Yemen’s west coast.

Last week, Nasrallah announced during a televised speech his desire to fight alongside the Houthis.

“I am ashamed that I am not with you. I wish I could be one of your fighters and fight under the guidance of your brave and dear leaders,” Nasrallah said.

In less than three months, the nephew of President Saleh has been able to form “the Yemeni National Resistance Forces,” which were trained in camps established west of Aden city.

On April 19, Saleh’s “Republican Guards” unit, a name he chose for his troops that used to make up the special forces loyal to the late president, joined the fighting against the Houthis in the battle for the west coast.

Last December, the Houthis killed Saleh in Sanaa after he broke allegiance with the insurgents and sided with the internationally recognized government led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Arab Coalition.



Drone Attack Targets Tawke Oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan

General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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Drone Attack Targets Tawke Oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan

General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

A drone attack targeted an oilfield operated by Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO in Tawke, in the Zakho Administration area of northern Iraq, on Thursday, the Kurdistan region's counter-terrorism service said.

The attack is the second on the DNO-operated field since a wave of drone attacks began early this week.

DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Türkiye, temporarily suspended production at the fields following explosions that caused no injuries, the counter-terrorism service said.

DNO did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

This week's drone attacks have reduced oil output from oilfields in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by between 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said on Wednesday, as infrastructure damage forced multiple shutdowns.