Two dead after Houthis attack Saudi warship

Yemen continues to be one helluva powder keg.

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Two dead after Houthis attack Saudi warship

A Saudi frigate warship has come under a terrorist attack by three suicide boats belonging to Houthi militias while it was on patrol west of Yemen’s Hodeida port.

The command of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen confirmed the attack in a statement on Monday and said that the Saudi ship “dealt with the boats as necessary.”

One of the Houthi boats collided with the rear of the Saudi warship, resulting in the explosion of the boat and a fire at the rear of the ship. The crew were able to extinguish the fire but two members of the ship’s crew were killed in the attack while three others were injured and are said to be in stable conditions.

“The Saudi ship has continued its patrol duties in the area of operations, while the air force and the coalition forces' ships continued to chase the fleeing boats to deal with them,” the statement read.

“The command of the coalition asserts that the continuation of the Houthi militias' use of the port of Hodeida as a launching pad for terrorist operations is a serious development that would affect the international navigation and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance into the port for Yemeni citizens,” the statement added.

Arab coalition strikes kill Houthi chiefs in Yemen

 Tribesmen loyal to Houthi rebels hold their weapons as they attend a gathering aimed at mobilizing more fighters into battlefronts in several Yemeni cities, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. (AP)

And further, in regards to the Religion of Peace, wars continue to rage in Syria, in Turkey, in Iraq, in Yemen, in Nigeria, in Libya and in Afghanistan. 

Imagine what the world would be like if Mohammed had been a war-like human being?

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Arab coalition strikes kill Houthi chiefs in Yemen

Saudi-led coalition forces killed two of the most high-profile Houthi militia commanders in Yemen’s Harad and Midi fronts in the city of Hajjah.

The two commanders have been identified as Abu Marwan and Abu Ayman. Both men were tasked with leading battles on the Midi front.

Two T72 tanks, Katyusha rocket launchers, missiles and ammunition warehouses were destroyed during two days on both fronts.

Meanwhile, government-allied forces in Shabwa province deterred militia attacks on the al-Alam, al-Salim, al-Akda and al-Soueida posts in the Bayhan district.

Yemen’s army and resistance forces are quickly advancing toward Saada after gaining control of several strategic areas nearby.

Factions from the army and resistance forces were able to regain control on Monday the command center of Brigade 101, the al-Thar and Habsh mountains.

Saada has been under siege from Houthi militias and was the city where a missile was launched targeting holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia last October.

Happy Holidays From the Boys at ISIS - 49 Yemeni Soldiers Blown to Bits in Yemen

The story comes from The Jerusalem Post.

Islamic State claims Yemen suicide attack that killed 49

CAIRO - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Sunday that killed up to 49 Yemeni soldiers in the southern port city of Aden, the group said in a statement.


Islamic State said more than 70 "apostates" were killed in the attack carried out by a suicide bomber it identified as Abu Hashem al-Radfani.

Yemen Tells John Kerry To Pound Sand

Seriously, has any foreign government actually DONE ANYTHING with Sec of State John Kerry other than the Iranians who used him to get nuclear weapons?

Some thought it was impossible to find a more hopeless and incompetent Secretary of State than Hillary Clinton but John Kerry has been equal to the task.

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Yemeni govt snubs Kerry’s end of hostilities deal

Yemeni Foreign Minister Al-Mekhlafi said Tuesday that his government was not consulted on the cessation of hostilities deal announced in the same day by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

Mekhlafi criticized the agreement saying it will jeopardize prospects of reaching peace between Yemen’s warring sides.

“The government was not aware of nor is it interested in what Secretary Kerry announced, which represents a desire to scuttle peace efforts by trying to reach an agreement with the Houthis apart from the government,” Mekhlafi wrote on his official twitter page.

Mekhlafi made his statement after Kerry said the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen and the Arab Coalition have agreed to cessation of hostilities starting on Nov. 17.

Speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to the United Arab Emirates, Kerry added that all parties to the conflict have also agreed to work to set up a Yemeni national unity government by the end of the year.

In a related story, Saudi air defense forces on Tuesday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Yemen towards the kingdom, the coalition said.

The missile was fired towards the Najran region but was shot down, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Coalition forces responded by targeting the source of the fire inside Yemen, it added.

The coalition has been engaged in a bombing campaign against the Houthis and their allies since March last year, and the militias have targeted their air bases.

Third attack on US vessels off Yemen in a week

Barack Obama's campaign of American wussiness continues as any 2 bit pirates off Yemen get to beat on American ships.  And Obama laughs it all off like he laughs off you fools for putting him in the chair.

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Third attack on US vessels off Yemen in a week

A top US admiral says a US warship has for the third time in a week, come under fire in the Red Sea from multiple cruise missiles fired off the coast of Yemen.

The website Military.com quoted Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson as saying that the guided missile destroyer USS Mason has deployed electronic countermeasures to foil the attack and was not hit in Saturday’s incident --the third such attack on US naval vessels in the area in the past week.

The incidents, along with an Oct. 1 strike on a vessel from the United Arab Emirates and the Oct. 12 failed strike on a US Navy destroyer, add to questions about safety of passage for military ships around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

The Houthi militia appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct the missile attack on the warship. The United States is also investigating the possibility that a radar station under Houthi control in Yemen might have also “painted” the USS Mason, something that would have helped the Houthi militants pass along coordinates for a strike, the officials have said.

The Houthis, who are allied to Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, have the support of many army units and control most of the north including the capital Sanaa.

On Thursday, Iran deployed two warships to the Red Sea, but insisted the move was aimed at preventing piracy in the vital shipping lanes.

US Navy ship targeted again off Yemen

Anybody else sick and damn tired of the U.S. navy being the punching bag of the damn Islamic world?  'Bout time we light up some fucking minarets in the sand.

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

US Navy ship targeted again off Yemen

A US Navy destroyer was targeted on Wednesday in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi militia, the second such incident in the past four days, US officials told Reuters.

The USS Mason, which was accompanied by the USS Ponce - an amphibious transport dock - fired defensive salvos in response to the missiles, neither of which hit the ship or caused any damage as it operated north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The renewed attempt to target the US Navy destroyer will add pressure on the US military to retaliate, a move that would represent the first direct US military action against Houthis in Yemen’s conflict. The Pentagon hinted about possible retaliatory strikes on Tuesday.

The incidents, along with an Oct. 1 strike on a vessel from the United Arab Emirates, add to questions about safety of passage for military ships around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

The Houthis, who are battling the internationally-recognized government of Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, denied any involvement in the previous attempt to strike the USS Mason or the nearby USS Ponce on Sunday.

But US officials have told Reuters there is growing indications that Houthi militia, despite those denials, were responsible for Sunday’s incident.

The rebels appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct the missile attack on the warship. The United States is also investigating the possibility that a radar station under Houthi control in Yemen might have also “painted” the USS Mason, something that would have helped the Houthi fighters pass along coordinates for a strike, the officials have said.

The Houthis, who are allied to Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, have the support of many army units and control most of the north including the capital Sanaa.

Reuters has learned that the coastal defense cruise missiles used against the USS Mason on Sunday had considerable range, adding to concerns about the kind of heavy weaponry that the Houthis appear willing to employ and some of which US officials believe is supplied by Iran.

Over 140 dead, 525 injured as Saudi strike hits funeral ceremony in Yemen

One of these days...the world is going to be at the brink.

The story comes from DAWN.

Over 140 dead, 525 injured as Saudi strike hits funeral ceremony in Yemen

SANAA: More than 140 people were killed and more than 525 wounded Saturday when air strikes hit a funeral ceremony in Yemen, a United Nations official said, with Houthi rebels blaming the attack on the Saudi-led coalition.

Senior health ministry official Nasser al-Argaly warned that the toll from the air strike that targeted a building where mourners had gathered in southern Sanaa could rise further.

Emergency workers pulled out at least 20 charred remains and body parts from the gutted building while others scoured the wreckage in search for survivors, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

The rebel-controlled news site sabanews.net said that coalition planes hit a building in southern Sanaa where hundreds had gathered to mourn the death of the father of a prominent local official.

The Houthis did not say if the official ─ rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan ─ was present in the building at the time of the attack which they dubbed a “massacre” nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral.

Rebel Almasirah television said Sanaa mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was among those killed.

People had come from all over Sanaa to attend the funeral, said Mulatif al-Mojani, who witnessed the air strikes.

“A plane fired a missile and minutes later another plane pounded the building," he told AFP.

Another witness, who declined to give his name, described the attack as “war crime”.

“This was a funeral for one man in Sanaa and now it has turned into a funeral for tens of Yemenis,” he said.

A security source, quoted by the rebel website, said a fire tore through the building after the strikes.

Yemen's powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key ally of the Houthi movement, called for an escalation of attacks against Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
US for 'immediate review' of coalition, Saudi agrees to investigate raid

The United States (US) said Saturday it had launched an "immediate review" of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen which was blamed for the strike.

"We are deeply disturbed by reports of today's air strike on a funeral hall in Yemen, which, if confirmed, would continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians," White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

"US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check... In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led Coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen's tragic conflict."

The Saudi-led coalition said Sunday it would investigate the air raid after Washington announced it was reviewing support for the alliance.

After initially denying any responsibility, the coalition said it was ready to launch a probe into the "regrettable and painful" strike. However, Reuters reported that sources in the Saudi-led coalition have denied any role in the attack.

"The coalition will immediately investigate this case along with... experts from the United States who participated in previous investigations," it said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

"The coalition is also willing to provide the investigation team with any data and information related to its military operations today, at the incident's location and the surrounding areas," it said.

The UN said aid workers were "shocked and outraged" by the attack.
Call to protest

Houthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee Sanaa.

More than 6,700 people ─ most of them civilians ─ have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened in support of Hadi, according to the United Nations.

Ambulance sirens blared as they transported the wounded away and residents said local hospitals had issued an appeal for blood donations.

'IS suicide bomber' kills 71 army recruits in Yemen

This is CLASSIC al Qaeda tactics that came over when al Qaeda in Iraq morphed into ISIS.  It still works.

The story comes from DAWN.

'IS suicide bomber' kills 71 army recruits in Yemen

ADEN: An Islamic State group militant rammed his explosives-laden car into an army recruiting centre in Aden Monday, killing 71 people in the deadliest militant attack on the Yemeni city in over a year.

The army, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, is training young recruits to join its nationwide war against Huthi rebels and their allies.

Aden is the temporary base of Yemen's internationally recognised government, which was forced into exile after insurgents seized Sanaa and other parts of the war-torn country.

Security officials told AFP the attacker drove the car bomb into a gathering of recruits at a school in the north of the port city.

The recruits were among 5,000 newly enrolled soldiers being trained to fight the Huthi rebels in the north along the border with Saudi Arabia, military sources said.

Although the complex was locked as recruits registered inside, the attacker drove in when the gate was opened for a delivery vehicle, officials said.

Witnesses said some recruits were buried when a roof collapsed after the blast which left a gaping hole on the building's facade.

Debris was scattered around the complex and nearby buildings were damaged.

The assault killed at least 71 people and wounded 98, medical sources told AFP.

They could not immediately verify whether all those who died were recruits.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Twitter that its hospital in Aden “received 45 dead and at least 60 wounded” following the explosion.

Aden has experienced a wave of bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces.

Attacks in the city are often claimed by militants from either Al-Qaeda or IS, which have both taken advantage of the chaos in Yemen to make gains in the south and southeast.
String of attacks

IS claimed Monday's bombing on its official propaganda outlet, Amaq.

Earlier this month, a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into a large group of army reinforcements sent from Aden to fight militants in neighbouring Lahj, killing five soldiers, military officials said.

No group has claimed that attack.

But on July 20, four policemen were killed in a bombing attack in Aden that was claimed by IS. And in May, twin suicide bombings in Aden claimed by IS killed at least 41 people.

Yemeni authorities have trained hundreds of soldiers in the city over the past two months as part of operations to retake neighbouring southern provinces from militants.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi condemned the “cowardly terrorist act”.

“It comes as a response to the painful strikes by the heroes of the army and popular resistance, backed by Arab coalition forces,” he said.

Earlier this month, government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan's provincial capital of Zinjibar.

Troops retook other towns across Abyan but have been met by fierce resistance in the key Al-Qaeda stronghold of Al-Mahfid, security sources said.

The militants still have a presence in areas surrounding the recaptured towns and control large parts of neighbouring Shabwa province, the sources say.

The Arab coalition battling the rebels in Yemen has also been providing troops with air cover throughout their war against the militants.

The United States has carried out numerous drone strikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March last year and has helped government forces push the rebels out of Aden and four other southern provinces since July 2015.

The war in Yemen has also impacted on security in Saudi Arabia, where shelling from the kingdom's impoverished neighbour killed three Saudi children and wounded nine other people on Sunday.

Cross-border attacks from Yemen have intensified since the suspension in early August of UN-brokered peace talks between the rebels and the government.
ICRC delivers medicines

The Arab coalition has also stepped up air raids in Yemen since peace talks collapsed.

A coalition air strike north of Sanaa on Monday killed eight civilians including a child, rescuers and witnesses said.

More than 6,600 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since March 2015 and more than 80 per cent of the population has been left needing humanitarian aid, the UN says.

A plane chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) landed at Sanaa airport on Monday, carrying insulin for thousands of people with diabetes.

“Yemen's health sector is in a terrible state,” said the head of the ICRC in Yemen, Alexandre Faite. “Less than 30 per cent of the required medicines and medical supplies have entered Yemen in 2015,” he added.

This Wasn't the Week To Be a Houthi in Yemen

Staggering numbers here.  Go to the Al Arabiya site and view the video.

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Houthi militias incur 1,654 deaths in one week

Al Arabiya News Channel sources have confirmed the Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen have incurred nearly 1,654 deaths and 2,000 injured over the past week.

The strikes by the Saudi-led coalition forces started on Wednesday and has strategically targeted Houthi military sites in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The strikes have also targeted sites in Saleh-stronghold city of Sanhan and coup-held city of Saada.

The coalition warplanes also recently bombed Houthi fighters from Yemen seeking to infiltrate Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, a rocket fired by Yemeni rebels killed seven civilians inside Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the civil defense agency said.

It was the highest reported number of civilian casualties in the kingdom's south since a Saudi-led coalition intervened 17 months ago in Yemen.

Al Qaeda militants execute 17 Yemeni govt soldiers

The story comes from Al Arabiya.

Al Qaeda militants execute 17 Yemeni govt soldiers

Suspected Al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen seized and executed 17 soldiers loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Saturday, local officials and residents said.

The soldiers were detained while travelling from the southern port of Aden to al-Mahra province in eastern Yemen via Ahwar, a city in Abyan province under Al Qaeda control.

The militants took them to a remote area and killed them by firing squad, the officials and residents said. They said 17 other captive soldiers were wounded in the incident and some managed to escape and get help from local tribal leaders.

Ansar al Sharia, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, later issued a statement denying responsibility for the attack and blamed a local armed fighter named Ali Aqeel.

“We entered Ahwar around two months ago to chase this corrupt individual and his gang,” the statement said.

The soldiers had been visiting family in Aden and were returning to their base in al-Mahra to draw their salaries, security sources said. They were not dressed in military uniform and were not riding in military vehicles.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has exploited the Yemeni war to expand areas under its control, seizing Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout province, last year and recruiting more followers.

"Brave" Jihadis Slaughter Elderly and Nuns in Yemen

Certainly Mohammed would be oh so proud of such an attack.

The story comes from Times of India.

4 Indian nuns among 16 dead in gun attack on Yemen care home

SANAA: Four Indian nuns were among 16 people killed on Friday when unidentified gunmen stormed a retirement home run by Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity in the southern city of Aden and started shooting at them, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said.

Two gunmen surrounded the home for the elderly in Aden while another four fighters entered the building, witnesses and officials said.

They said the gunmen moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.

One nun who survived and was rescued by locals said that she hid inside a fridge in a store room after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting "run, run."

Khaled Haidar told The Associated Press that he counted sixteen bodies, including that of his brother, Radwan.

All had been shot in the head and were handcuffed. He said that in addition to the four Indian nuns, six Ethiopians, one Yemeni cook, and Yemeni guards were among those killed.

He said that his family was the first to arrive at the house and that he spoke to the surviving nun, who was crying and shaking. Haidar said that his family later handed her over to southern fighters in charge of security in the local Aden district, Sheikh Osman.

The bodies were transferred to a police station and then a hospital run by the aid organization known as Doctors Without Borders or MSF. An official with MSF confirmed that 15 bodies had arrived at the hospital. Haider said his family took his brother's body for burial.

There are around 80 residents living at the home, which is run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation established by Mother Teresa. Missionaries of Charity nuns also came under attack in Yemen in 1998 when gunmen killed three nuns in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.

Aden descended into lawlessness after a Saudi-led coalition recaptured the city from Shiite Houthi rebels last summer.

Yemen's civil war has split the country in two. The northern region, where Shiite rebels are in control, has been struck by an extensive air campaign by a Saudi-led coalition.

The southern region, which is controlled by the internationally-recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia, is suffering from a power and security vacuum.

ISIS group and al-Qaida affiliates have exploited the lawlessness and created safe havens in the south.


Al-Qaida controls several southern cities and ISIS group has claimed responsibility for a wave of deadly attacks in Aden, including a suicide bombing that killed the city's governor and several assassination attempts on top officials.

Aden's churches have also come under attack. In the summer, a Catholic church in the district of Crater was torched and sabotaged by Islamic extremists.

Houthi Rocket Takes Out Dozens of Gulf Troops In Yemen Including Saudi Commander

The Houthis in Yemen scored their first major win in Yemen for a very long time as a rocket of their fired into a Gulf Coalition camp proved very deadly.

The story comes from DAWN.

Saudi commander, UAE officer among dozens killed in Yemen fighting

DUBAI: A senior commander from Saudi Arabia and an officer from the United Arab Emirates were among dozens of Gulf, Yemeni and Sudanese soldiers killed on Monday in a rocket strike in Yemen as fighting flared before Tuesday's peace talks, local media and Yemeni sources said.

The Tochka rocket strike on a Red Sea army camp south-west of the besieged city of Taiz appears to be one of the bloodiest setbacks for Gulf forces in months of fighting against Houthi forces and Yemeni army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Sultan Mohammed Ali al-Kitbi, an Emirati officer, was killed near Taiz, Emirati state news agency WAM reported.

Saudi Press Agency SPA said Colonel Abdullah al-Sahian and Kitbi “were martyred at dawn on Monday while shouldering their duties in overseeing operations to liberate Taiz”.

The photographs of Sahian, who had been decorated by Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi for bravery two days earlier, were displayed by Saudi-owned al-Hadath television channel alongside verses of mourning.

The Houthis said via their own media outlets that the two commanders were among scores killed in a rocket attack near Bab al-Mandab on the Red Sea coast.

A source in Hadi's forces confirmed that a rocket had been fired at coalition forces in the Dhubab area, north of Bab al-Mandab and south-west of the city of Taiz, adding that “tens were killed” in a camp that houses Yemenis, Sudanese, Emiratis and Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition in a military campaign since late March to stop the Houthis from taking complete control of Yemen after they seized the capital Sanaa last year and advanced south towards the port city of Aden.

The Saudi-led campaign has retaken Aden and the city of Marib, east of Sanaa, but has failed to oust the Houthis from Taiz or end attacks on the Saudi border that have killed scores of the kingdom's soldiers.

Monday's strike was the worst reported since more than 60 Saudi and Emirati troops were killed in September when another Tochka rocket hit the al-Safer air base near Marib in northeastern Yemen.

The Houthis and Saleh's former political party, the General People's Congress, are sending representatives to Switzerland on Tuesday for talks with Yemen's internationally recognised government under President Hadi.

A seven-day renewable ceasefire is scheduled to come into effect on Monday to coincide with the talks.

Two previous ceasefire attempts, in May and July, were followed by accusations of breaches by both sides.

Nearly 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict, almost half of them civilians. It has also pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

ISIS Rears Its Ugly Head In Yemen For the First Time, Kill 22

While Barack Hussein Obama promised to "contain" ISIS, they continue to EXPAND as they have had their first direct impact in Yemen against government forces and the Saudis.

The story comes from DAWN.

Islamic State kills 22 in attacks on Yemen govt, Gulf troops, mosque

ADEN: Islamic State suicide bombers killed 22 people in attacks on Yemen's government and its Gulf Arab coalition ally in the port city of Aden and on a Houthi-run mosque in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, the jihadist group and state media said.

It was the first known direct Islamic State assault on the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the country's civil war in March against Houthi forces who had seized large areas of the country to that point.

Four coordinated Islamic State suicide bombings killed 11 Yemeni and four United Arab Emirates soldiers in Aden, Yemeni officials and the UAE state news agency said.

In Sanaa, seven people were killed in the attack on the al-Nour mosque in the al-Nahda district of the Houthi-controlled capital, the Houthi-run state news agency said.

Claiming responsibility for the Sanaa bombing, Islamic State said in a statement that dozens of Houthis preparing to go to the battlefront had been killed or wounded.

The Islamic State is hostile to both the US-backed Yemeni government and Arab coalition allies, as well as to the Houthis in Yemen's complex conflict.

The Yemeni government returned from exile in Saudi Arabia and set up temporary headquarters in Aden's al-Qasr hotel last month after Gulf Arab and Yemeni troops retook the major southern port city from Houthi forces.

Islamic State jihadists had hitherto refrained from openly targeting Yemen's government and the Saudi-led coalition now fighting together to roll back Houthi domination over large areas of the Arabian Peninsula state.

Vice President Khaled Bahah, who is also prime minister, and cabinet colleagues escaped unharmed from what he said were car bomb attacks in Aden, two of which targeted the al-Qasr hotel.

“Today's attack does not affect anybody. On the contrary, it binds us together more,” he told a cabinet meeting afterwards in comments carried by Dubai-based al-Arabiya television.

“We had come here to work and we know that there are security gaps... But this now prompts us to do more in the framework of reinforcing security in a bigger way by the general security services and armed forces.”

The United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said suicide bombers also targeted two Gulf Arab military sites in Aden.

The self-styled Islamic State claimed responsibility for the four suicide attacks targeting Yemeni, Emirati and Saudi officers.

Islamic State's assault occurred with newly returned Yemeni authorities trying to restore order in Aden while government and Arab coalition forces thrust north and westwards with the ultimate goal of recapturing the capital Sanaa from the Houthis.

Militants of various allegiances had tried to establish themselves in Aden but faced resistance from local militias. Islamic State, which is centred in Iraq and Syria, first emerged in Yemen in March with a series of suicide attacks on Shia mosques in which 137 people died.
Bombers driving military vehicles

The suicide bombers in Aden were driving Yemeni army vehicles, a Yemeni military source told Reuters.

UAE officials earlier in the day had blamed the Houthis and their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, for the attacks.

Houthi official Yahya Ali al-Qahoom distanced his group from the bombings. The Houthis have long accused Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government of being allied to militants like Islamic State, something both deny.

“The blows which the invaders have received in Aden signal the depth of the struggle going on among factions and the intelligence agencies of the aggressor countries,” Qahoom said on his Twitter account, referring to the Saudi-led coalition.

Islamic State distributed pictures on Twitter showing smiling men it said were the suicide bombers and the hotel at the moment it was hit by a big orange fireball.

Salem al-Yazidi, a fighter in a local militia allied with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who remains in sanctuary in Saudi Arabia, described chaotic scenes when he rushed to aid the victims of the blast at the plush al-Qasr hotel.

The Houthis are locked in ground fighting with Yemeni and Gulf Arab forces and also in the cross-hairs of daily Saudi-led air strikes.

In the biggest blow yet to the coalition, the Houthis killed over 60 Gulf Arab troops in a rocket attack in Marib, east of Sanaa, last month.

The plush al-Qasr hotel is serving as informal headquarters of Yemen's government and of Emirati troops based in Aden.

Rajeh Badi, spokesman for the Yemeni government, said it would remain in Aden to carry on its duties for the time being.

Hadi's government has demanded the Houthis recognise its authority and withdraw from several cities, including Sanaa, which they seized last year.

United Nations efforts to settle the conflict have made little progress.

In a separate attack in eastern Yemen, a local official said forces loyal to Hadi foiled an attempt by al Qaeda militants on Tuesday to seize facilities at the al-Masilah oilfield in Hadramout province.

The official said there were casualties on both sides in the gunfight but provided no further details.

Saudi air strikes in Yemen's capital kill 29

Yemen....hell on earth.

The story comes from Times of India.

Saudi air strikes in Yemen's capital kill 29

SANAA: The Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes against Yemen's Shiite rebels and their allies have killed 29 people, including civilians, in the capital Sanaa, security and medical officials there said on Saturday.

The coalition's airstrikes hit an apartment building in the centre of the capital, a Unesco world heritage site, killing a family of nine, the officials who remain neutral in the conflict that has divided Yemen's security forces said.

One more civilian was killed and the search for more that may be buried under rubble is ongoing. The rebels, known as Houthis, lost 19 fighters in the overnight attack, the officials said.

"It was a terrifying night," said Sanaa resident Mohsen Faleeh. "The air strikes were heard in every corner of the city."

Yemen's fighting pits the internationally recognised President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's forces backed by the coalition against the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The strikes targeted some of Saleh's estates, prompting pro-Saleh media to circulate a defiant statement from the former president, saying "the person they are searching for lives in the hearts of 25 million Yemenis."

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to brief reporters.

Yemen's Houthis, Just Like Their Iranian Backers, Are a Bunch of Yellow-Bellied Pussies

I've said it many times that those most chickenshit fighters in the world are Iranians.  A close second would be their inbred cousins, the Houthis in Yemen.

Well, the Houthis now are clamoring for some sort of peace settlement.  They got their asses kicked for two straight months and are waving the white flag.  Wusses.

And these are the types of spineless cowards that John Kerry bowed to?

The story comes from DAWN.

Yemeni rebels’ chief says he’s ready for political settlement


SANAA: The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels said a political settlement with the exiled government was still possible after what he called the “short-term” setback of their ouster from second city Aden.

Abdulmalik al-Houthi said the rebels would welcome a new attempt by a third party to broker a deal after the failure of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva in June.

“A political settlement is still possible,” Houthi said in a speech broadcast by the rebels’ Al-Masira television channel late on Sunday.



“We would welcome any (mediation) effort by a neutral party — Arab or international,” he said.

Houthi played down the withdrawal of the rebels and their allies from Aden in mid-July after four months of ferocious fighting. “The advance made by the enemy in Aden will collapse,” he said.

“It is a short-term situation which we will overcome despite all the money of Saudi Arabia”. Yemen’s oil-rich neighbour has led an air campaign against the rebels since March and has also trained and equipped ground forces that were instrumental in securing Aden.

It was the rebels’ entry into the southern port that forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his internationally recognised government into Saudi exile in March.

Riyadh has justified its military intervention against the rebels and their allies, saying that they posed a threat to the kingdom’s security.

But Houthi said that after more than four months of devastating bombing, the threat was the other way round.

“With the crimes that you are committing you pose a danger to Yemen,” he said.

“To guarantee your security, you have to be a good neighbour”. The rebels have fired mortars, rockets and even Scud missiles across the border but say that they only did so in response to the Saudi-led air war.

A Saudi civilian was killed on Sunday but the majority of the 49 deaths so far have been soldiers.

Saudi Air Strike In Yemen Mountains Decimates Houthis - 23 Killed

I guess when a Saudi fighter jet bombs a Shiite Houthi munitions factory and kills 23 jihadis, the only thing better would be if the Saudi fighter jet crashed on the way back to Riyadh but we'll take what we can get.

The story comes from Times of India.

Saudi-led air strike on Yemen rebel bastion kills 23

SANAA: A Saudi-led air strike on a Huthi Shia rebel stronghold in Yemen's northern mountains killed 23 people early Saturday, tribal sources said.

The strike targeted a munitions factory in Saqayn, near Saada, the sources said.

Coalition aircraft also bombed the rebel-held capital Sanaa, targeting an arms warehouse and the air defence headquarters, witnesses said.

The coalition launched air strikes against the rebels in March, after the Huthis seized control of much of the country prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to take refuge in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi-led air strikes kill 44 in attack on Yemeni army compound: agency

From DAWN.

Saudi-led air strikes kill 44 in attack on Yemeni army compound: agency


SANAA: Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 44 people during an air raid on the main headquarters of the Yemeni army in central Sanaa on Sunday, the Houthi-run state news agency Saba said.

The agency said that more than 100 people, including civilians, were also wounded in the attack which also destroyed private houses in the Tahrir district in central Sanaa.

Residents had earlier said that four explosions shook the compound, where soldiers allied with the Houthi group that dominates Yemen had gathered since Saturday evening to get their pay cheques.

“More than 44 citizens were martyred and 100 others including women and children, according to preliminary figures,” the agency said.

The agency quoted a source at the Health Ministry as saying that rescue teams were working to find people believed to be still under the rubble of houses destroyed by the raids.

The escalation of the violence came despite progress toward convening United Nations-backed peace talks this month in Geneva.

The exiled Yemeni government in Riyadh and the Houthis have agreed to attend the talks which start on June 14.

SANAA: Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 44 people during an air raid on the main headquarters of the Yemeni army in central Sanaa on Sunday, the Houthi-run state news agency Saba said.

The agency said that more than 100 people, including civilians, were also wounded in the attack which also destroyed private houses in the Tahrir district in central Sanaa.

Residents had earlier said that four explosions shook the compound, where soldiers allied with the Houthi group that dominates Yemen had gathered since Saturday evening to get their pay cheques.

“More than 44 citizens were martyred and 100 others including women and children, according to preliminary figures,” the agency said.

The agency quoted a source at the Health Ministry as saying that rescue teams were working to find people believed to be still under the rubble of houses destroyed by the raids.

The escalation of the violence came despite progress toward convening United Nations-backed peace talks this month in Geneva.

The exiled Yemeni government in Riyadh and the Houthis have agreed to attend the talks which start on June 14.

It was the first reported use of a ballistic missile in the conflict. The Saudi military said it had targeted the city of Khamees Mushait in the kingdom's southwest and was intercepted by two Patriot missiles.

Arab air strikes and shelling after the attack killed 38 Yemenis in provinces near Saudi Arabia, according to Saba reports which could not be immediately confirmed.

Joint Operation of Yemen's Military and U.S. Drones Destroys Al Qaeda Camp, 55 Jihadis Killed

Oh man...any day you can report that 55 al Qaeda jihadis have been turned into red goo is one damn good day.

The story comes from Times of India.

55 al-Qaida militants killed in Yemen


SANAA, Yemen: Yemen's interior ministry says 55 al-Qaida militants were killed in an hours-long series of strikes on a training camp operated by the group in the country's south.

The statement on Monday said three senior members were among those killed, without elaborating. It said the identification process for those killed is continuing.

The operation, which kicked off Sunday and is believed to have involved US drones, targeted a sprawling training camp of al-Qaida in the rugged mountains of Mahfad between Abyan, Shabwa and al-Bayda provinces.

Security officials said the camp's infrastructure was destroyed.

Washington considers Yemen's al-Qaida branch to be the most active in the world.

U.S Predator Drone In Yemen Kills 15 Al Qaeda In One Vehicle

It's not "the BUCK stops here" but rather, "the BUS stops here"... as 15 al Qaeda inside of Yemen are nothing but goo now that a pair of American hellfires fired from a U.S. drone took out there vehicle.

Yes, that is 15 dead.

The story comes from DAWN.

Drone kills 15 'Qaeda', three civilians in Yemen: security


SANAA: A drone strike Saturday killed 15 Al Qaeda suspects and three civilians in Yemen's central Baida province, a stronghold of the extremist group, a security official said.

The jihadists were travelling in a vehicle towards the southern Shabwa province, witnesses said. The three civilians were passing by in another car.

The United States is the only country that operates drones in Yemen, but officials rarely discuss the covert programme.

Last month, Yemen's President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi defended the use of drones against Al Qaeda in his country, which has killed dozens of militants in a sharply intensified campaign over the past year.

Drone strikes “have greatly helped in limiting Al Qaeda activities, despite some mistakes which we are sorry about,” Hadi told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily.

The drone programme has come under criticism from human rights activists concerned over civilian casualties.

The United Nations said 16 civilians were killed and at least 10 wounded when two separate wedding processions were targeted in December.

The victims had been mistakenly identified as members of Al Qaeda, it quoted local security officials as saying at the time.

Following the deaths, Yemen's parliament voted for a ban on drone strikes, but analysts say lawmakers are unlikely to be able to halt the US campaign.

The United States has defended the drone campaign, which allows it to target Al Qaeda without the use of ground forces in lawless areas where authorities cannot or will not act against the group.

Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the home base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has been linked to a number of failed attacks on the US homeland.

The group has taken advantage of the weakening of the central government since 2011, when a popular uprising erupted that eventually forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power.