Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
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Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo

Gunmen believed to be belonging to Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, headed by Qais al-Khazali, took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to protest the arrest of suspects in rocket attacks.

As the gunmen resorted to the streets of the Iraqi capital in a show of force, it was reported that the authorities released the suspects after the mediation of high-ranking figures.

Reports said that the arrests were linked to a rocket attack near Baghdad airport two months ago, which left seven members of the same family dead.

Two units of special forces were deployed near vital areas in Baghdad on Friday after cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for the announcement of a state of emergency and the deployment of the army instead of armed factions.

The head of the parliamentary security and defense committee, MP Mohammed Rida Haidar, said he backed Sadr’s call because the capital needs the army to control areas used by certain groups to target embassies in the Green Zone.



Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile strikes against Israel, and pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthi militias were "paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us".

A series of airstrikes targeted the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and six others the major port of Hodeidah, said Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by the Houthis, while Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack.

An employee at the Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, the outlet said.

Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the Ras Issa port targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of shipping berths, though no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged.

The supply of petroleum derivatives is stable, the Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.

Thirteen airstrikes also targeted the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Al Masirah TV reported. It said three citizens had been injured, including a worker at Hezyaz, and a number of homes had been damaged.

An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the power station served as a "central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities". It added that the targets struck were examples of the "Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure".

Within the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv and more drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.

The Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north as well as international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023 in support of Palestinians at war with Israel in Gaza.

Israel has responded with airstrikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as have British and US forces in the region.

Netanyahu said last month Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.