Yemeni Fighter Allies are claimed by exiled government to seize large amounts of Houthi weapons supplied by Iran
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Fighters allied with Yemen’s government in exile claimed on Wednesday that they had seized 750 tons of missiles and weapons supplied by Iran, tied up the country’s Houthi rebels, the latest weapon attack in the country’s war in a decade, allegedly closely related to Tehran.
For years, the U.S. Navy and other Western Navy have been capturing Iranian weapons and were sent to Huthis, who have held Yemen’s capital since 2014 and have been attacking the Red Sea in the Israel-Hamas war.
However, the epilepsy seizure announced on Wednesday marked the first major interceptor force of the national resistance, a group of fighters associated with Tariq Saleh, the nephew of Yemen’s late strongman leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Husse and Iran did not immediately admit to seizures, and the national resistance occurred in late June.
A brief video package released by the unit appeared to show anti-Fleet missiles, the same type used in Houthi’s recent attack, sank two ships in the Red Sea and kill at least four people as others remain missing.
The video also appears to show the Iran-made Type 358 air defense missile. Houthis claims that in the past decade of the Yemen War, they defeated 26 U.S. MQ-9 drones, probably among those missiles. Most of the losses were recognized by the U.S. military.
The video also appears to show drone components, warheads and other weapons. The force said it will issue a detailed statement in the coming hours.
Iran denies armed insurgents, despite discovering weapons made by Tehran on the battlefield and still being sent to Yemen under the UN weapons embargo.
Houthis occupied the capital of Yemen in September 2014, Sanaa, and forced an internationally recognized government to exile. A Saudi-led coalition led by the Saudi-led U.S. arms and intelligence launched a war on the side of the exiled government in Yemen in March 2015. Years of uncertain battles have pushed the poorest countries of the Arab world to the brink of famine.
The war killed 150,000 people, including soldiers and civilians, causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters and causing tens of thousands.
