Arab Coalition Destroys Drone Communication System in Sanaa

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab Coalition Destroys Drone Communication System in Sanaa

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi-led Arab coalition said on Tuesday it has carried out air strikes against training camps and strongholds of the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen's Sanaa.

The raids destroyed a drone communication system in the Jabal al-Nabi Shuaib region.

On the ground, intermittent fighting was reported between the Giants Brigades and the Houthis on the Harib front in the Marib province.

The Giants Brigades have surrounded the militias in some areas of Harib.

The Houthis have been using people as human shields to hinder the advance of the Brigades.

In the al-Bayda province, clashes have been reported on the Numan front. Supply routes from Bayda leading to Harib in southern Marib have been cut.

The Arab coalition carried out a series of raids on reinforcements and Houthi positions in al-Malajim, Sawadiya and the Nateh districts in Bayda. These areas have been used by the militias as supply centers and platforms to launch rockets.

The coalition had earlier announced that it would be launching raids on Houthi targets in Sanaa in retaliation to the militias' firing of eight armed drones at Saudi Arabia on Monday.



Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
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Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on Friday, marking Abbas’s first visit to the Syrian capital in nearly 16 years.

Al-Sharaa greeted Abbas at the entrance of the Presidential Palace, and the two leaders walked side by side along a red carpet, according to an AFP correspondent.

Al-Sharaa held talks with Abbas and his accompanying delegation on Friday in Damascus, in the presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, the presidency said.

The visit is Abbas’s first to Syria since June 2009 and aims to discuss ways to strengthen Palestinian-Syrian ties, ease administrative procedures for Palestinians living in Syria, and address shared security concerns, a Syrian government source told AFP.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), around 560,000 Palestinians lived in Syria before the outbreak of conflict in 2011. The agency now estimates that number at about 438,000, with more than 40% internally displaced.

Abbas’s visit to Damascus carries exceptional significance due to the complex Palestinian landscape in Syria, observers in the capital told Germany’s DPA news agency.

Analysts noted that the visit comes against the backdrop of a sensitive file involving Palestinian factions that were previously aligned with the former regime and have since had their offices and military posts shut down.

Abbas is expected to raise several key issues, including bilateral relations, the situation of Palestinians in Syria—whose number is currently estimated at more than half a million—and the reconstruction of Yarmouk camp, widely considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora.

Abbas is accompanied by Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, and committee member Ahmad Majdalani. It is his first trip to Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.

His last visit to Damascus was in 2009, when he met Assad as part of a regional tour that also included Saudi Arabia.

In the years following Syria’s civil war, Abbas maintained indirect contact with Damascus, sending messages to Assad through Palestinian officials—the most recent in June 2024.