Yemen Army Deals Houthis Major Losses in Marib, Jawf

A Yemeni government fighter fires a vehicle-mounted weapon at a frontline position during fighting against Houthi fighters in Marib, Yemen March 28, 2021. (Reuters)
A Yemeni government fighter fires a vehicle-mounted weapon at a frontline position during fighting against Houthi fighters in Marib, Yemen March 28, 2021. (Reuters)
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Yemen Army Deals Houthis Major Losses in Marib, Jawf

A Yemeni government fighter fires a vehicle-mounted weapon at a frontline position during fighting against Houthi fighters in Marib, Yemen March 28, 2021. (Reuters)
A Yemeni government fighter fires a vehicle-mounted weapon at a frontline position during fighting against Houthi fighters in Marib, Yemen March 28, 2021. (Reuters)

The Yemeni military and popular resisted deterred in recent days some 50 attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militias along the frontlines in the Marib and al-Jawf provinces, revealed Yemeni military sources.

The militias incurred dozens of losses in the attacks, they added to Asharq Al-Awsat.

They said the Houthis have since Monday been attempting to regroup in wake of the major losses and the Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes.

Military spokesman Abdo Majali stated that the military has recaptured several positions, saying the al-Kasara and al-Mashjah fronts in western Marib had witnessed the fiercest fighting.

During a press briefing, he stressed that the army and popular resistance were continuing their defensive and offensive operations against the Houthis on several fronts.

They have succeeded in repelling various attacks and infiltrations by the militias on various fronts in Marib, including Sirwah, al-Kasara, Hilan, al-Mashjah, al-Mokhadra, al-Jadaan, Jabal Murad and others.

The military has succeeded in liberating two positions that put it in range of Houthi supply routes, he continued.

Moreover, Majali said air defenses had destroyed two armed Houthi drones in al-Kasara, revealing that they were aimed at civilian targets.

They also destroyed another aircraft in Sirwah, where Majali spoke of the heroics of the military in defeating the militias and dealing them heavy losses.

The spokesman hailed the Arab coalition air force for its effective role in destroying Houthi capabilities.

In the past two weeks, the coalition has carried out dozens of accurate raids on the Sirwah, al-Mashjah, al-Kasara and Raghwan areas, he continued. The strikes destroyed two tanks and three armored and 15 military vehicles and targeted Houthi positions, fortifications, convoys and reinforcements.

In the neighboring Jawf province, the military carried out successful raids against the Houthis on the northern al-Khanjar front, making advances on the ground.

On the al-Nudoud front, the army carried out a surprise attack against the Houthis, leaving many of their members dead and injured, destroying several of their military vehicles and seizing their weapons.

In other provinces, Majali revealed that the military and resistance have thwarted Houthi infiltrations in Dhale, Taiz, Hodeidah and al-Bayda.



Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran has increased its diplomatic and military efforts in Syria in response to Israeli escalation and threats to cut off the Tehran-Damascus corridor.

This includes strengthening Iranian-backed militias, which have stepped up attacks on US-led coalition bases and the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

These groups are also fighting ISIS in the Syrian desert.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that Iran-backed groups launched 89 attacks on US bases in Syria in 2024, using drones and rockets from both Syria and Iraq.

In turn, US forces have upgraded their base defenses, including air defense systems, to intercept drones before they reach their targets.

At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is expanding its training camps for militias, especially the Iraqi Harakat al-Nujaba, in Syria’s southeastern Homs desert.

Reinforcements from the Zainabiyoun and Fatemiyoun brigades, totaling about 225 fighters, recently arrived in the eastern Deir Ezzor province through the al-Hari border crossing. The fighters are stationed in Al-Boukamal and Mayadeen under IRGC command.

Local sources said Iran is working to strengthen its military presence in the region.

On Monday evening, ISIS launched an attack on Iranian-backed militias in the desert near Tadmur, east of Homs.

Syria's Al-Watan newspaper reported that on Monday, government forces and allied troops fought fierce battles with ISIS cells in the eastern Homs desert.

A military source said the clashes killed several ISIS fighters and destroyed their vehicles, which were armed with heavy machine guns.

The militants had attempted to cross from areas controlled by US forces in the 55-kilometer zone to target military positions near the town of al-Taybah in eastern Homs.