Over a hundred soldiers were killed and wounded in a ballistic missile and armed drone attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against the al-Anad military air base in Yemen’s Lahj province, Yemeni source said on Sunday.
The attack took place during morning training and is the second to target the base in as many years.
President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi vowed that the Houthis will “pay dearly” for the attack.
“They will be held accountable for every crime they commit against the Yemeni people,” he added, according to the Saba news agency.
“The Yemeni people’s battle against the Persian agenda in Yemen will continue and it will soon be victorious,” he pledged.
“The sacrifices of the people will not be in vain. The Houthi’ attempts to drag Yemen back to a hateful past will fail. The people will defeat them and establish their state,” he continued.
Hadi urged the people to stand united against the Houthi agenda, saying anyone supporting them is being deluded. He called on them to show solidarity and be more vigilant and wary against any hostile Houthi acts.
The call for solidarity appears to be a message to end the dispute with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) - the interim government’s partner in rule - in order to implement the military and security aspects of the Riyadh Agreement.
The latest figures from Yemen showed that 44 people were killed and 60 wounded in the al-Anad attack.
The majority of the wounded were being treated at hospitals in Lahj, which is located some 60kms from Aden, the interim capital. Other casualties were being treated in Aden.
Governor of Lahj and commander of the 17th infantry unit, Ahmed Turki vowed to retaliate to the Houthi attack.
“The response will be on the battlefield, not by using inhumane means that are adopted by the Houthis,” he said as he visited the wounded at hospital.
Military spokesman said the Houthis struck the military base with three ballistic missiles and armed drones.
Witnesses said the attack was launched from the neighboring Taiz province, where some regions are still held by the militias.
The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack in what observers said was an attempt to raise suspicions between the government and STC, similar to what happened in the past when camps in Aden were attacked.
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.
Observers said the Houthi attacks are a message that they are not seeking peace in Yemen, citing also their ongoing refusal of nationwide ceasefire proposals by the United Nations and international mediators.
