100 Houthi-Bound Drone Parts Seized in Yemen

The busted shipment of drone parts. (Twitter)
The busted shipment of drone parts. (Twitter)
TT

100 Houthi-Bound Drone Parts Seized in Yemen

The busted shipment of drone parts. (Twitter)
The busted shipment of drone parts. (Twitter)

Yemeni security agencies seized on Monday a shipment of some one hundred drone parts that were bound to the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias.

The shipment was busted in the eastern al-Mahra province.

Yemeni official sources said security forces seized the shipment while inspecting a truck at a crossing point.

The owner of the truck claimed that his shipment was loaded with clothes, but after inspection, the smuggled goods were uncovered and seized.

Deputy head of the Consultations and Reconciliation Commission Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi confirmed that the shipment was loaded with some 100 drone parts that were bound to the Houthis.

In a tweet, he said one hundred drone engines were bound to a terrorist group that has been barred from arming in line with United Nations resolutions.

“How many people could these drones have killed? How many have been smuggled over the past eight years? Doesn’t this demand an international probe?” he wondered.

A report by UN experts had revealed that a land route that stretches from the eastern border is being used by smugglers to the Houthis. They also spoke of marine routes used by smuggling networks in Iran.

The US Navy had in the past two months alone seized a number of vessels that were smuggling weapons and ammunition to the Houthis believed to be provided by Iran.

In November, the US Navy's Fifth Fleet intercepted a fishing vessel smuggling "massive" amounts of explosive material while transiting from Iran along a route in the Gulf of Oman that has been used to traffic weapons to the Houthis.

In early December, the Fleet said it intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling "more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses and propellants for rockets" in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen.

Earlier in January, the US Navy seized over 2,100 assault rifles from a ship in the Gulf of Oman it believes came from Iran and were bound for the Houthis.



EU's Borrell Urges Pressure on Israel, Hezbollah to Accept US Ceasefire Proposal

File photo: EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell attend the plenary session during the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 16, 2024. Urs Flueeler/Pool via REUTERS
File photo: EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell attend the plenary session during the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 16, 2024. Urs Flueeler/Pool via REUTERS
TT

EU's Borrell Urges Pressure on Israel, Hezbollah to Accept US Ceasefire Proposal

File photo: EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell attend the plenary session during the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 16, 2024. Urs Flueeler/Pool via REUTERS
File photo: EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell attend the plenary session during the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 16, 2024. Urs Flueeler/Pool via REUTERS

The European Union's foreign policy chief called on Sunday during a visit to Beirut for pressure to be exerted on both the Israeli government and on Lebanon's Hezbollah to accept a US ceasefire proposal.
Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, Josep Borell also urged Lebanese leaders to pick a president to end a two-year power vacuum in the country, and he pledged 200 million euros in support for Lebanon's armed forces.
US envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region earlier this week in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.