Yemeni forces, allies have many drones, modern ballistic missiles in inventory: Army spox

The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says army troopers and allied fighters from Popular Committees have a large number of domestically-developed combat drones and ballistic missiles in their inventory.

Speaking during a press conference in the capital Sana’a on Sunday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the Yemeni Military Industry has made great leaps concerning the production of home-grown unmanned aerial vehicles, stressing that 2019 will be the year of Yemeni drones.

He went on to say that Yemeni forces have manufactured several state-of-the-art combat drones and ballistic missiles, which will be put on display in near future.

The development came on the same day that the head of the military intelligence loyal to Yemen's resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi succumbed to wounds sustained in an air raid against Saudi-paid mercenaries at an air base in the country’s southwestern province of Lahij on January 10.

Local medical sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Major General Mohammed Saleh Tammah died in hospital in the coastal city of Aden.

Saree said on Thursday that Yemeni soldiers and their allies had attacked Saudi mercenaries at al-Anad Air Base with a Qasef K2 (Striker K2) drone.

He added that the new drone could strike its designated targets from 20 meters away, and that it could carry a large payload of explosive materials.

Later on Sunday, Yemeni soldiers and Popular Committees fighters launched a barrage of artillery rounds at a position of Saudi troopers and Saudi-paid militiamen in the Jabal al-Qais mountainous area of the kingdom’s southern border region of Jizan.

Scores of Saudi soldiers and mercenaries were killed and injured in the process.

The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.

A number of Western countries, the US and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

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