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Yemen intensifies retaliatory attacks, troops flee Saudi bases

This April 13, 2015 photo shows Saudi military vehicles patrolling near the Saudi-Yemeni border, the southwestern Saudi province of Jizan. (AFP photo)

Hundreds of Saudi soldiers have fled their positions on the southern border of Saudi Arabia as Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and the allied Yemeni army units step up retaliatory attacks on Saudi military bases in the area.

Yemen’s al-Masirah TV said Tuesday that the allied forces fired mortar shells at a military position in the al-Tawal district of Jizan Province, forcing the troops there to leave behind their military vehicles and escape the base.

Yemeni forces also shelled the al-Dood military zone and the village of Khobah in the same province, inflicting losses on Saudi military equipment.

The report said the allied forces also fired rockets at the al-Jihad military zone in Jizan, while a similar attack was launched on Arrabeh and Rabouah zones in the Zahran district in the southern Saudi province of Asir.

The attacks, which are among the most extensive strikes carried out over the past few months, also targeted the al-Haras military camp in Nahuqah district, in the southern province of Najran.

The rocket and mortar attacks came in response to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing bombardment of residential areas and key civilian infrastructure across Yemen. The illegal Saudi air campaign started on March 26 with the aim of restoring power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Earlier on Tuesday, Yemeni forces made fresh gains in their battle against terrorist groups and militants loyal to Hadi, with a report by al-Mayadin saying that they have captured a major police station south of the city of Ta’izz, in western Yemen.

Saudis dispatch tanks to Anad base

Meanwhile, reports from the southern city of Aden said long columns of Saudi tanks were seen rolling out of the port city.

The M1 Abrams battle tanks were reportedly advancing northward to the Anad military base in Lahij Province. The base has been the scene of fierce fighting between remnants of the former regime and Ansarullah fighters allied with the Yemeni army.

Militants backed by the former Yemeni regime say troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with heavy military equipment have landed in Aden to help them in battles against the Yemeni popular committees.

Anad airbase, which was used by the US in its drone campaign, was captured by Ansarullah fighters last month. Saudi backed militants claim they have captured the base but the Yemeni army has denied the claims.


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