Page 10 - Yemen

'Houthis could free detained political leader under swap deal,' says UN

Yemen's Houthi rebels could free a political leader with ties to the internationally recognised government who has been detained for nearly a decade, under a preliminary prisoner swap deal announced by the United Nations on Monday. Mohamed Qahtan is the leader of the Sunni Islamist Islah party, which is aligned with the Saudi Arabia-backed government, and he has been held incommunicado by the Iranian-backed Houthis since 2015, the United Nations said. The office of UN special envoy Hans Grundberg convened a meeting in Oman with the International Committee of the Red Cross over the weekend to facilitate talks centred on a prisoner exchange, in accordance with the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The two Yemeni sides agreed to meet to discuss the final list of who will be released and the details of Qahtan's release, Dujarric said, without providing details on the potential agreement. Qahtan's release has been a point of contention for years, Dujarric ..

Aerial drone likely launched by Yemen's Houthi hits ship in Red Sea

An aerial drone likely launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck and damaged a vessel in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack by the group targeting the vital maritime corridor. The attack comes as the US has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment that saw it lead the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have seen shipping drastically drop through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on. The drone attack happened around dawn off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It said the vessel sustained damage but its mariners on board were reported safe. It did not elaborate on the extent of the damage, but said an investigation was ongoing. The private security firm Ambrey identified the ship involved as a

Ship sinks in Red Sea after attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched numerous missile, drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Israel's invasion of Gaza following Hamas' October attack on Southern Israel

US aircraft carrier counters false Houthi claims with 'Taco Tuesdays'

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower may be one of the oldest aircraft carriers in the US Navy, but it's still fighting despite repeated false claims by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis and online accounts supporting them repeatedly have alleged they hit or even sank the carrier in the Red Sea as it leads the US response to the rebels' ongoing attacks targeting both commercial vessels and warships in the crucial waterway. That's put its leader, Capt. Christopher Chowdah Hill, and his social media profile directly in what has become an increasingly bizarre internet front line as the campaign goes on. And while he shrugs off his posts, they represent the new level of information warfare the Navy is having to fight as it faces its most intense combat since World War II and tries to keep the morale of the nearly 5,000 personnel aboard the Eisenhower high and munitions ready as their deployment stretches on. I think it's been about two or three times in the past six months we've allegedly bee

Fight for control of Yemen's banks between rebels, govt to wreck economy

Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognised government are locked in a fight for control of the country's banks that experts warn is threatening to further wreck an economy already crippled by nearly a decade of war. The rivalry over the banks is throwing Yemen's financial system into deeper turmoil. Already, the Houthis who control the north and centre of the country and the government running the south use different currency notes with different exchange rates. They also run rival central banks. The escalating money divide is eroding the value of Yemen's currency, the riyal, which had driven up prices for clothing and meat before the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha started on Sunday. For weeks, Yemenis in Houthi-controlled areas have been unable to pull their money out of bank savings accounts, reportedly because the Houthi-run central bank, based in the capital, Sanaa, has stopped providing liquidity to commercial and government banks. Protests have broken out in fron

Ship evacuated, ablaze after attack by Yemen's Houthis, says UKMTO

The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea region has disrupted global shipping, cascading delays and costs through supply chains

Houthi crackdown: Rebels launch missile attack on cargo ship. Top points

The UN and three other agencies have asked the Houthis to release 17 detained staff and aid workers

Missile strike from Houthi rebels sets cargo ship on fire in Gulf of Aden

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched two anti-ship cruise missiles and struck a commercial ship Thursday in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen, setting it on fire and severely wounding one civilian mariner, authorities said. The M/V Verbena was still ablaze and the mariner was flown by a US helicopter based on the USS Philippine Sea to another nearby ship for medical treatment, the US military's Central Command said. In a statement, Central Command said the Verbena is a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier that had docked in Malaysia and was on its way to Italy carrying wood. The M/V Verbena reported damage and subsequent fires on board. The crew continues to fight the fire, the statement said. The attack is the latest such assault in the Houthis' campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier Thursday, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a vessel had been attacked and had caught fire. And the private security firm Ambrey sa

Houthis claim to break up US-Israel spy network after arresting UN staffers

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Monday they had arrested members of an American-Israeli spy network, days after detaining at least 11 UN staffers along with others from aid organisations. Maj. Gen. Abdulhakim al-Khayewani, head of the Houthis' intelligence agency, announced the arrests, saying the spy network had first operated out of the US Embassy in Sanaa. Then after it was closed in 2015 following the Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa and northern Yemen, they continued their subversive agenda under the cover of international and UN organisations, he said. He did not say how many people were arrested. Houthi authorities issued what they purported to be videotaped confessions by 10 Yemenis, several of whom said they were recruited by the US Embassy. They did not include any of the UN employees who were arrested. The Houthis' claims could not be independently verified. The United Nations on Friday announced the arrests of 11 Yemeni staffers. Six worked for the UN's human rights agenc

Yemen's Houthi missile strikes on 2 ships in Gulf of Aden, says US military

The Iran-backed Houthis hit the Tavvishi, a Liberian-flagged and Swiss-owned container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile

Cargo ship hit by missile in suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels

A missile struck an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday in a suspected attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen, authorities said. The missile hit the ship's forward station, starting a fire that those on board later put out, the private security firm Ambrey said. A second missile fired at the ship missed and people on board small boats in the vicinity opened fire on the ship during the incident, Ambrey added, though no one was hurt onboard. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center similarly reported an attack late Saturday in the same area off Aden, but provided no further details. Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis. The rebels did not immediately claim the assault, though it can sometimes take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks. The Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting shipping .

Houthi rebels unveil 'Palestine' missile similar to Iran's hypersonic

Yemen's Houthi rebels have unveiled a new, solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds. The rebels fired its new Palestine missile, complete with a warhead painted like a Palestinian keffiyeh checkered scarf, at the southern Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat in Israel on Monday. The attack set off air raid sirens but caused no reported damage or injuries. Footage released by the Houthis late Wednesday showed the Palestine being raised on what appeared to be a mobile launcher and rising quickly into the air with plumes of white smoke coming from its engine. White smoke is common with solid-fuel missiles. Solid-fuel missiles can be set up and fired faster than those containing liquid fuel. That's a key concern for the Houthis as their missile launch sites have been repeatedly targeted by US and allied forces in recent months over the rebels' attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

Houthis claim missile attack on US Navy aircraft carrier in the Red Sea

The claimed attack by the Houthis comes after the group said that US and British strikes in Yemen's Hodeidah province had killed 16

Cargo ship attacked by Yemen's Houthis was bound for its 'backer' Iran

A Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier that came under attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels earlier this week had a cargo of grain bound for Iran, the group's main benefactor, authorities said Thursday. The attack on the Laax comes as the Houthis continue their attacks on shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor, part of a campaign they say aims at pressuring Israel and the West over the war in Gaza. However, as shipping through that artery has dropped during the months of attacks, the rebels have struck vessels associated with Iran, as well as Tehran's economic lifelines of China and Russia. Initially after the attack, the Laax had listed its destination as Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. On Thursday, however, its listed destination instead appeared to be Bandar Khomeini, Iran. A statement released by French naval forces based in the UAE that patrol the Middle East also identified the vessel's grain shipment as being bound for Iran. It said that a team from Djibouti

Yemen's Houthi rebels freed over 100 war prisoners, says Red Cross

The Iranian-backed Houthis rebels in Yemen on Sunday released more than 100 war prisoners linked to the country's long-running conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. The unilateral release came more than a year after Yemen's warring sides freed more than 800 prisoners in a major exchange in the country in April last year. The release of 113 prisoners took place Sunday morning in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa, the Red Cross said in a statement, adding that the released detainees were among those the ICRC visited and assisted regularly in their detention in the Yemeni capital. We hope this paves the way for further releases, bringing comfort to families eagerly anticipating reunification with their loved ones, said Daphnee Maret, the ICRC's head of delegation in Yemen. One of the released detainees with health issues was transferred in an ambulance to his hometown inside Yemen, the ICRC said without elaborating. The release was delayed by a day because of ..

Missile splashes into Red Sea, no damage caused in suspected Houthi attack

A missile splashed down in the waters of the Red Sea on Thursday, but caused no damage to a passing commercial vessel in an attack likely carried out by Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it can take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their assaults. The attack happened in the southern Red Sea near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The private security firm Ambrey similarly reported the attack. The Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent months, demanding that Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the

Houthi rebels using weapons that can reach Mediterranean Sea, says US

The official said Houthis have access to advanced weaponry and that their deployment of anti-ship ballistic missiles is virtually unprecedented

Houthi rebels claim they shot down another drone; US army denies claim

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Tuesday they shot down an American drone over the impoverished Arab county. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the claim. If confirmed, this would be the second MQ-9 Reaper drone downed by the Houthis over the past week as they press their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Last Friday, the Houthis claimed downing an American drone over the province of Marib, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper. And early Saturday, a vessel also came under attack in the Red Sea. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Tuesday the drone was shot down with a locally made surface-to-air missile. He did not say when it took place but alleged the drone was carrying out hostile missions over Yemen's southern province of Bayda. The US Mideast-based Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding the

US calls on Iran to halt 'unprecedented' weapons' transfer to Houthis

The United States has called on Iran to halt its transfer of an unprecedented amount of weaponry to Yemen's Houthi rebels, enabling its fighters to carry out reckless attacks on ships in the Red Sea and elsewhere. US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the UN Security Council that if it wants to make progress toward ending the civil war in Yemen it must act collectively to call Iran out for its destabilising role and insist that it cannot hide behind the Houthis. He said there is extensive evidence that Iran is providing advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, to the Houthis in violation of UN sanctions. To underscore the council's concern regarding the ongoing violations of the arms embargo, we must do more to strengthen enforcement and deter sanctions violators, Wood said. The Houthis say their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war with Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians there

Houthis claim 2 attacks in Gulf of Aden, another unreported in Indian Ocean

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed two missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden on two Panama-flagged container ships that caused no damage, while also saying they targeted a ship in the Indian Ocean in a previously unreported assault. The claims by Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree come as the tempo of the rebel attacks have waned in recent weeks as they've been targeted by repeated airstrikes launched by a U.S.-led coalition warship in waterways crucial to international trade. The Houthis insist their assaults will continue as long as Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip goes on. Saree in a prerecorded statement claimed attacks on the MSC Diego and MSC Gina. The Joint Maritime Information Center, a U.S.-led coalition of nations operating in the Mideast, said those two missile attacks happened early Tuesday. "Neither were hit and all crew on board are safe," the center said. The vessels were last reported proceeding to next port of call. The center added that the vessels were likely ...