Dozens Killed in Houthi Attack on Yemen’s Anad Air Base

A government tank at the Al-Anad air base. (Reuters file photo)
A government tank at the Al-Anad air base. (Reuters file photo)
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Dozens Killed in Houthi Attack on Yemen’s Anad Air Base

A government tank at the Al-Anad air base. (Reuters file photo)
A government tank at the Al-Anad air base. (Reuters file photo)

At least 30 soldiers were killed and 60 wounded on Sunday in strikes by the Iran-backed Houthi militias on Yemen’s al-Anad military air base.

The Houthis have carried out several attacks using armed drones and ballistic missiles on the base, Yemeni southern forces spokesman Mohamed al-Naqeeb said.

Naqeeb said that between 30 to 40 soldiers were killed and at least 60 wounded, adding the death toll may still rise as rescuers were still clearing the scene.

The southern forces are part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Two medical sources said several bodies had arrived at Lahj province’s main hospital along with another 16 wounded people. It was unclear if civilians were among the casualties.

Residents said that several loud blasts were heard in the al-Anad area, which is located at some 70 km (43 miles) north of the southern port city of Aden.

Several other residents from the disputed central city of Taiz said they heard ballistic missiles fired from launchers positioned in the Houthi-held eastern suburbs of the city.

In 2019, the Houthis said they launched a drone strike on al-Anad during a military parade, with medics and government sources saying at the time at least six loyalists were killed -- including a high-ranking intelligence official.

Al-Anad was the headquarters for US troops overseeing a long-running drone war against Al-Qaeda until March 2014 when it was overrun by the Houthis.

It was recaptured by government forces in August 2015 as they recovered territory from the militias across the south with support from the Arab coalition.



Germany Hands Syrian Doctor Life for Torturing Assad Critics

Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
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Germany Hands Syrian Doctor Life for Torturing Assad Critics

Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)

A Syrian doctor who had practiced in Germany was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Monday for crimes against humanity and war crimes after he was found guilty of torturing dissidents in Syria.

The 40-year-old, identified only as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was found guilty of killing two people and torturing another eight during his time working in Syria as a doctor at a military hospital and detention center in Homs in 2011 and 2012.

The court said his crimes were part of a systematic attack against people protesting against then-President Bashar al-Assad that precipitated the country's civil war.

Assad was toppled in December. His government denied it tortured prisoners.

Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015, after fleeing to Germany among a large influx of Syrian refugees, and became one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system.

He was arrested in June 2020, and was handed a life sentence without parole, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt said in a statement.

The defendant had pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy.

German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.

They have targeted several former Syrian officials in similar cases in recent years.

The plaintiffs were supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

ECCHR lawyer Patrick Kroker called Monday's ruling "a further step towards a comprehensive reckoning with Assad's crimes".

Judges found that the doctor caused "considerable physical suffering" as a result of the torture inflicted on his victims, which included serious beatings, mistreating wounds and inflicting serious injury to the genitals of two prisoners, one of whom was a teenage boy.

Two patients died after he gave them lethal medication, the court statement said.

Monday's ruling can be appealed.