Houthis Likely Behind Attack on Yemeni Army Base in Abyan

Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
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Houthis Likely Behind Attack on Yemeni Army Base in Abyan

Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)

A major explosion rocked a Yemeni army base Sunday in the Modiya district of the southern governorate of Abyan with initial reports saying the attack, likely staged by Houthi militias, killed and injured at least 20 soldiers.

The assault on the army base follows Iran-backed Houthi militants losing ground in battlefields in the central governorate of Al Bayda.

Medics and military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the blast was either caused by a missile or a drone that targeted a mosque in the army’s Fifth Infantry Brigade camp in Modiya district in Abyan governorate when soldiers were performing the afternoon prayers.

At least five were killed, and 15 were injured, sources said, adding some of the wounded were in critical condition.

According to army analysts, Houthi militias stand to benefit the most from the attack, which could have been staged to confuse pro-government forces, like the army and the popular resistance.

They added that the hit took advantage of tensions between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions in some parts of Abyan.

A probe into the attack was launched, and initial results will be announced as soon as they are ready.

Meanwhile, pro-government armed popular resistance forces, backed by the Yemeni army’s Giants Brigade, continued to advance against Houthi positions in the al-Zahir district in Al Bayda, official sources reported.

The push seeks to secure hold on vital areas like Dhi Mukhshib, Jahour, and AsSwadna that lie on a strategic crossroad in the Jamajim area of al-Zahir.

Such progress ensures that government loyalists would surround the center of the Al-Zahir district, only a few kilometers away from the governorate’s capital city, also called Al Bayda. This will also help in cutting off major supply routes to the militias.



Iranian Officials: Quds Force Chief Out of Contact since Beirut Strikes

FILE PHOTO:  Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iranian Officials: Quds Force Chief Out of Contact since Beirut Strikes

FILE PHOTO:  Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, who travelled to Lebanon after the killing last month of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike, has not been heard from since strikes on Beirut late last week, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters.

One of the officials said Qaani was in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, during a strike on Thursday that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine but the official said he was not meeting Safieddine.

The official said Iran and Hezbollah had not been able to contact Qaani since then.

Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The second official also said Qaani had travelled to Lebanon after the killing of Nasrallah and the Iranian authorities had not been able to contact him since the strike against Safieddine, who was widely expected to be the next Hezbollah chief.

Hezbollah has made no comment so far on Safieddine.
The Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, oversees dealings with militias allied with Tehran across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was killed with Nasrallah in his bunker when it was hit on Sept. 27 by Israeli bombs.