100 Houthi-Bound Drone Parts Seized in Yemen

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



Morocco Says Arrested 10 People over Thwarted Terror Plots

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Morocco Says Arrested 10 People over Thwarted Terror Plots

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Moroccan authorities said on Monday they had arrested 10 people, including a minor, involved in foiled "terrorist plots" across several cities.

The kingdom's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) said in a statement carried by state news agency MAP that the suspects were linked to ISIS in the Sahel region, AFP reported.

Simultaneous raids were carried out in several cities, including Casablanca and Agadir, to foil the "extremely dangerous" plots which were "in an advanced stage of preparation", the authorities said.

Searches uncovered "manuscripts detailing the manufacture of explosive devices" and recordings of a pledge of allegiance to IS, the statement said.

In Inezgane, near Agadir, police also discovered a vehicle with its "fuel tank modified to run on butane gas", meant for a "suicide bombing or a car-ramming attack", the statement added.


Algeria's FLN Gets Most Seats in Parliament with Record Low Turnout

The FLN secured 90 of the parliament's 407 seats in the July 2 poll (File photo/AFP)
The FLN secured 90 of the parliament's 407 seats in the July 2 poll (File photo/AFP)
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Algeria's FLN Gets Most Seats in Parliament with Record Low Turnout

The FLN secured 90 of the parliament's 407 seats in the July 2 poll (File photo/AFP)
The FLN secured 90 of the parliament's 407 seats in the July 2 poll (File photo/AFP)

Algeria's legislative elections saw a record low turnout, with just 21 percent of the 25-million electorate casting ballots, as the incumbent National Liberation Front (FLN) won the most seats, the election board said on Monday, AFP reportd.

The FLN secured 90 of the parliament's 407 seats in the July 2 poll, which was marred by public apathy and controversy over the government's disqualification of roughly a third of would-be candidates.


Palestinian Technocratic Committee Says Ready to Govern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
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Palestinian Technocratic Committee Says Ready to Govern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo

The Palestinian technocratic committee set up by the Board of Peace established by US President Donald Trump said Monday it was ready to govern the Gaza Strip after Hamas announced it had dissolved its ruling body.

"We affirm that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary resources and capabilities are available," Ali Shaath, head of the committee, wrote on X.

Later on Monday, Hamas announced it had officially dissolved its de facto government in Gaza and signalled it was ready to hand over to the group of Palestinian technocrats, as it presses Israel to honor other parts of a stalled US-backed peace plan.

The group's promise to end the body overseeing ministries — which has run for more than a decade — was a key part of the plan for a post-war Gaza set out by US President Donald Trump after the start of a fragile ceasefire with Israel in October.

Hamas said the ministries themselves and the staff it had appointed would stay in place and it would still oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control following the US-brokered truce.