Houthis Escalate Military Attacks in Northeast Yemen, Incur Heavy Losses

Yemeni Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz inspects army positions in the northeastern governorate of Marib, Saba News Agency
Yemeni Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz inspects army positions in the northeastern governorate of Marib, Saba News Agency
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Houthis Escalate Military Attacks in Northeast Yemen, Incur Heavy Losses

Yemeni Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz inspects army positions in the northeastern governorate of Marib, Saba News Agency
Yemeni Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz inspects army positions in the northeastern governorate of Marib, Saba News Agency

Houthi militias in Yemen have intensified their attacks on battlefronts located west and northwest of the oil-rich governorate of Marib, where over a million internally displaced civilians sought asylum from the ongoing violence of the Iran-backed group.

Stepped-up offensives expanded into the nearby governorate of Taiz, but the Yemeni army, backed by local pro-government forces and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, confirmed the Houthis were still incurring heavy losses on the battlefield.

Houthis have buried over 500 militants in the last month alone, battleground sources revealed. Meanwhile, army media reported dozens of bodies of dead Houthi militants were still scattered around contact lines west of Marib.

The national army killed no less than 40 Houthi militants in the western edges of Marib governorate, military sources said.

Backed by tribesmen, the national army foiled advances towards al-Mashjah and al-Kasara fronts attempted by Houthis, who were forced to retreat at the end.

Arab Coalition aircraft targeted Houthi reinforcements in the two fronts, leaving human and ordnance losses, sources added.

In Taiz, fierce fighting early on Thursday killed 37 Houthi militants.

“Government troops fended off a Houthi attack targeting the Air Defense camp in the northwestern part of Taiz city, leaving 12 Houthis killed and others injured,” reported the Aden-based Saba news agency.

The western front of Maqbana, a district of Taiz governorate, also saw violent confrontations that left nearly 25 Houthis killed and others injured, the government-run news agency added.

In other news, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi renewed his country’s strong rejection of Iran’s expansionist agenda, regardless of the price it costs.

The coup waged by the Iran-aligned Houthi militias, according to the president, has only produced death and destruction and inflicted untold and widespread suffering on the lives of millions of Yemenis.



Iran FM to Visit Syria, Türkiye as Tehran, Moscow Back Damascus Regime against Opposition Advances

 Opposition fighters step on a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, late Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP)
Opposition fighters step on a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, late Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP)
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Iran FM to Visit Syria, Türkiye as Tehran, Moscow Back Damascus Regime against Opposition Advances

 Opposition fighters step on a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, late Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP)
Opposition fighters step on a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, late Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP)

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi will visit Damascus on Sunday, before visiting Türkiye as part of a regional tour, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state media on Saturday.

Earlier, Araqchi and his Russian counterpart voiced support for Syria on during a major attack by opposition groups, Iranian state media reported.  

Araqchi told Russia's Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the attacks were part of an Israeli-US plan to destabilize the region, state media said.  

According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry about the call, both sides "expressed extreme concern about the dangerous escalation of the situation in Syria due to the terrorist offensive by armed groups in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces".  

The ministers agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria.  

Iran's foreign ministry also condemned what it called "aggression by terrorist elements" against its consulate in Syria's city of Aleppo during the current opposition advances, Iranian state media reported.  

"The consul-general and all members of the consulate of Iran in Aleppo are in good health," spokesperson Baghaei told state media.  

Earlier on Saturday, Russia's Lavrov spoke on the matter with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.  

For his part, Fidan spoke by phone with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Saturday to discuss the situation in Syria, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said.  

He also spoke with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.