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Iranian Militias Arrest 11 Syrian Loyalists

A Syrian army soldier stands on a damaged building in Deraa al Balaad, Syria, September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
A Syrian army soldier stands on a damaged building in Deraa al Balaad, Syria, September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
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Iranian Militias Arrest 11 Syrian Loyalists

A Syrian army soldier stands on a damaged building in Deraa al Balaad, Syria, September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
A Syrian army soldier stands on a damaged building in Deraa al Balaad, Syria, September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Lebanese Hezbollah arrested 11 Iran-backed Syrian fighters in al-Bokamal and al-Mayadin, under the control of the regime forces and Iranian militias.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) quoted sources as saying that the arrests were due to their interrogation following charges of communicating with the international coalition and Israel.

The Observatory claimed that Iranian militias and Hezbollah lost confidence in their Syrian loyalists and suspected they provided the coalition with information about movements and locations.

It indicated that a delegation of top commanders and investigation units, headed by the security officer of the Iranian militias in Syria, went to Deir Ezzor.

Reports indicated that Iranian leaders intend to change commanders in charge of the crossing, fearing Israeli or international coalition agents could be among them.

The IRGC militias began evacuating many of their military headquarters in al-Bokamal, amid a state of alert among militia members and their deployment in the streets.

The areas under the control of the Iranian militias on the Syrian-Lebanese border and the vicinity of Damascus are on security alert, and the militias banned anyone from approaching the main military headquarters.

They evacuated many residential buildings inhabited by militia members and leaders.

The SOHR sources indicated that security reinforcements were sent to the headquarters of the Iranian militias and Hezbollah.

Iranian militias fear security breaches that may affect the region's military sites, headquarters, and weapons depots.

Meanwhile, 11 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in three separate airstrikes that targeted, in less than 24 hours, trucks in eastern Syria after they had successively crossed from the Iraqi side.

The border region between eastern Syria and Iraq is one of the most prominent areas of influence of Iran and its loyal groups in Syria, including Iraqi factions.

Over the years, trucks carrying weapons, ammunition, warehouses, and military sites have been subjected to airstrikes, some of which the US claimed responsibility for, while others were attributed to Israel.

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Arab World

Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
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Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)

Disappearances of children and young men have surged in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa and its outskirts in recent weeks, fueling accusations that the Houthis are luring them into military camps, training them for combat and sending them to battlefronts without their families' knowledge or consent.

The cases have also raised fears among families of possible extortion, as authorities face accusations of failing to investigate the disappearances or disclose the fate of those missing.

Local human rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the unexplained disappearances have left residents increasingly alarmed, with children and young men vanishing from schools, streets and residential neighborhoods, sometimes without a trace.

Families have been left to search for their missing relatives on their own, turning to social media to appeal for information as Houthi-controlled security authorities ignore their reports, the sources said.

About 13 children and young men have disappeared from different parts of Sanaa since the start of October, the sources said. Most were aged between 15 and 23, and some were later found at Houthi military camps or on battlefronts after being lured into combat training without their families' knowledge or approval.

Hundreds of disappearances involving children and young men have been reported in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities since the beginning of the year, the sources said. Some families remain in the dark about their missing relatives' whereabouts.

The sources accused Houthi security authorities of ignoring families' reports and appeals, compounding their distress and leaving those missing vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment.

The latest cases, reported over the past two days, involve Amjad Noman al-Sarouhi, 16, who vanished from the al-Ansi neighborhood in central Sanaa's Maeen district, and Mukhtar Abdullah Hassan al-Rifai, 22, who went missing near the Haziz market on the capital's outskirts.

Lured into military camps

Families' accounts have deepened fears that disappearances are being used to funnel children and young men into Houthi military camps, amid accusations that Houthi supervisors and recruitment brokers are exploiting their social and economic hardships to draw them into combat.

In one case, a family spent five days searching neighborhoods and hospitals for a minor who disappeared from Sanaa two months ago, only to learn from a Houthi supervisor that he was at a military camp north of the city.

A relative told Asharq Al-Awsat that the supervisor confirmed Houthi members had lured the boy into the camp and put him through combat training without his family's knowledge.

The relative described five days of fear and anguish as the family searched for the boy, worried he might have been harmed, before discovering he had been taken to a Houthi camp and subjected to military training without their consent.

For Mujeeb, a Sanaa resident and father of four, the disappearances have turned even routine outings into a source of fear.

"We live in constant fear for our children. We no longer feel at ease even when one of them steps out to run a simple errand," he said.

"We fear a Houthi member or supervisor could lure them away or exploit their needs and difficult living conditions, leaving us facing a situation we are powerless to change."

Mujeeb said families wanted their children kept safe and allowed to pursue their education and lead normal lives, free from recruitment and being sent to battlefronts.

Arab World

Houthis Expand Taiz Offensive Southward into Lahj

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Houthis Expand Taiz Offensive Southward into Lahj

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched a three-pronged offensive in northern Lahj province on Friday, seeking to push toward the Tur Al-Bahah district and gain fire control over strategic routes linking Lahj and Taiz.

The escalation came as Yemen's armed forces held their ground on the southern and western fronts around Taiz city and stepped up air and ground strikes against Houthi positions there, along the western coast and in the eastern provinces of Al-Jawf and Marib.

Government forces also raised concerns over reports that the Houthis had fired shells suspected of containing toxic substances, causing choking and fainting among civilians and fighters.

The armed forces said they had carried out 1,087 successful strikes under Operation Dawn of Yemen, deploying fighter jets, drones, artillery and rocket launchers. The military said the strikes had neutralized about 336 Houthi commanders and fighters and destroyed or disabled 112 military vehicles, pieces of equipment, supply assets and heavy weapons.

Local sources reported fierce fighting in Lahj's Al-Maqatirah district after the Houthis attacked from three directions in a bid to seize the district and open a route toward Tur Al-Bahah.

Al-Maqatirah's strategic importance lies in its commanding position over key roads and areas stretching across southern Taiz and northern Lahj.

The assault coincided with sporadic clashes along the Taiz-Lahj administrative boundary, particularly on the Al-Mudaribah front, amid reports of fresh Houthi reinforcements. Field sources said the group had also deployed additional forces to Al-Shamayatayn district in southern Taiz.

In Taiz, government troops clashed with Houthi fighters in Al-Shaqab, southeast of the city, as government drones struck Houthi positions and troop concentrations. Sporadic clashes also erupted on the city's western fronts before dawn.

Further west, government artillery struck a Houthi gathering at the Khalid bin Al-Walid area in Al-Dhabab. Field reports indicated casualties among fighters stationed there.

On the western coast, airstrikes hit Al-Amoud Al-Sughra in Mokha district before dawn, targeting Houthi positions and military movements along the coastline.

The air campaign also reached Al-Jawf and Marib, with two strikes targeting Huwayshan in Al-Jawf and another hitting Mahliyah district in Marib.

Toxic shells raise alarm

Yemen's armed forces said they were treating with utmost seriousness reports that Houthi fighters had used shells suspected of containing toxic substances on the Taiz fronts, amid accounts of civilians and Popular Resistance fighters suffering choking and fainting.

Colonel Majed Al-Nuzaili, the armed forces' official spokesperson, called for an urgent investigation to identify the suspected substances, document their effects and trace their origins and suppliers.

In a statement, Al-Nuzaili said the incidents formed part of a continuing Houthi escalation against Taiz residents, including sniper attacks, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, a siege, road closures and restrictions on access to water, food, medicine and life-saving supplies.

The armed forces warned the Houthis against further attacks on civilians or the use of prohibited means of warfare.

They said protecting civilians and breaking the siege of Taiz remained core responsibilities of the state and its armed forces, pledging to take necessary measures in line with constitutional obligations and international humanitarian law.

The statement urged the United Nations and relevant international bodies to help deter violations, support an urgent investigation into the suspected toxic shells and press for roads to reopen to allow humanitarian aid and essential supplies to reach civilians unhindered.

The military also vowed that those behind attacks on civilians, including the commanders responsible, would face accountability and punishment.

Arab World

Lebanese Military Court Judge Charges 13 People Over Hezbollah Explosives Truck

The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the past three years. (AFP/Getty Images)
The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the past three years. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Lebanese Military Court Judge Charges 13 People Over Hezbollah Explosives Truck

The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the past three years. (AFP/Getty Images)
The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the past three years. (AFP/Getty Images)

A Lebanese military court has charged 13 people in connection with a seized truck carrying explosives belonging to Hezbollah, state media reported on Friday.

The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the past three years.

For decades, Hezbollah moved weapons freely in parts of Lebanon. That changed in March, when the government declared the group’s military activities illegal following the outbreak of the latest war.

Two defendants were arrested when authorities seized the shipment earlier this month and remain in custody. The other 11 remain at large and were charged in absentia. Five were identified only by nicknames because their real names remain unknown.

The cases were referred to the military court’s investigative judge, Claude Ghanem.

The charges include crimes against internal state security, possession of weapons and explosives, and forming illegal associations aimed at undermining state authority, the state-run National News Agency said.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

The truck was stopped at a checkpoint on the main highway linking Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley earlier this month. It carried 780 kilograms (1,720 pounds) of explosives, including 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of TNT and 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of C-4 plastic explosives, according to judicial officials.

The seizure sparked heated public debate, with many accusing Hezbollah of planning to assassinate domestic opponents as it faces mounting pressure to disarm.

Hezbollah later acknowledged owning the explosives, saying they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. It said it had asked Lebanese authorities to return the shipment and release the two detainees.

The government outlawed Hezbollah’s military activities hours after the group fired rockets into northern Israel, triggering a war that has killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and left Israeli forces occupying a large swath of the country’s south. Hezbollah fired the rockets two days after Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran, its main backer.

Hezbollah has refused to recognize the government’s decision.