Saudi-led coalition targets Houthi launch-pads in Yemen

By Ali Oweida

MAARIB, Yemen

A Saudi-led military coalition on Thursday destroyed three “ballistic missile launch-pads” in Yemen’s northern Al-Jawf province, according to a statement issued by the Yemeni army.

“Arab coalition warplanes have destroyed three launch-pads used to fire ballistic missiles in Al-Jawf’s Al-Matammah region,” the statement read.

The launch-pads, it added, had been recently transported to Al-Jawf from the neighboring Saada province, traditionally considered a Houthi stronghold.

Missile attack

Earlier Thursday, Houthi rebels fired a "ballistic missile" at a military camp in the Maarib province east of capital Sanaa, according to a Yemeni military source.

The source, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, said the missile had targeted eastern Maarib's Al-Ruweik military camp.

Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, vice president of Yemen's internationally recognized government (now based in the port city of Aden), had been visiting the camp -- along with Yemeni military officials -- at the time of the attack, the source said.

According to the same source, the missile fell to earth close to the camp without exploding or causing casualties.

Houthi spokesmen appeared to confirm the missile attack.

"The Al-Ruweik camp was targeted after surveillance operations revealed the presence there of large concentrations of mercenaries and invaders," the Houthi-run Saba News Agency quoted a Houthi spokesman as saying in reference to Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen's pro-Saudi government.