Yemen update 12/25\2015.. Yemeni Forces Kill Saudi Prince in Ma'rib

Yemenis launch fresh attacks on Saudis

Yemeni fighters seize the North of Khobeh city in Jizan

Disassembling mines and bombing a bridge in Mihdaf on 12/24/2015

US remains ‘undisturbed’ by civilian deaths in Saudi war on Yemen

Report: Yemeni Forces Kill Saudi Prince in Ma’rib Province

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941004000756

Yemeni army forces, backed by allied Popular Committees loyal to Ansarullah movement, have killed a Saudi prince during an attack in the oil-rich province of Ma’rib in central Yemen, a report said.

Amir Mohammad bin Mosa’ed bin Jalawi, an assistant inspector general, and his comrades were killed when Yemeni forces targeted them in the al-Hajar region, Sa’ada Press news website reported on Friday, according to press tv.

This comes a day after Houthi Ansarullah fighter killed several mercenaries fighting on Saudi Arabia’s behalf and militants loyal to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the same region.

In a separate development, Yemeni forces captured at least 48 Emirati soldiers, including nine military officers during a series of clashes in the northern province of al-Jawf.

Over 130 militants were also captured during the fierce fighting, Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Ahd news agency reported.

Several Yemeni civilians have lost their lives over the past three days as Saudi warplanes continue to pound areas across Yemen.

On Wednesday, leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi lashed out at Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom’s policies are the same as those of the US and Israel, “which seek to crush the Muslim Ummah without paying any price.”

On March 26, Saudi Arabia started deadly military aggression against Yemen in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured since March. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

The UN has repeatedly voiced concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in the Saudi military aggression against Yemen.

AQAP Exposes Channels Arabiya (Saudi) & Jazeera (Qatar)

War in Syria and the Middle East SITREP December 25th, 2015 by Rambo | The Vineyard of the Saker

Yemen and Saudi Arabia (including Coalition Members):

• Islamic State attacks on Aden have increased, with the killing of Aden’s governor and his five body guards in a bomb attack. [Source]

• The UAE has deployed its French-manufactured AMX LeClerc tanks since the onset of the conflict. The LeClerc was the world’s most EXPENSIVE tank during the time the UAE purchased it (the recent devaluation of the Euro has put it behind the South Korean K2 Black Panther tank). Only the UAE and France, the original manufacturer, can afford to deploy the LeClerc. [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source]

• Yemen Houthi-aligned forces fire more ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia with KSA air defense intercepting one of the two missiles. Most probably the Yemen-based KSA patriot missile batteries were the interception platform described in the source. [Source] [Source]

• The UAE is stepping down its national forces and placing BlackWater mercenaries in their place. The first Blackwater causalities were recorded from December 8th to 11th which included a Mexican mercenary who was commander-in-chief of UAE Blackwater forces, a retired British officer, one other Briton contractor, an Australian commander, a Frenchman, and six to ten Columbians (depending on sources) [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source]

• The fact that so many died in such a short while might indicate an attack on a leadership unit or command facility/vehicle which may have had many private military foreigners within its vicinity. Generally mercenaries (private military contractors) are working for the money and are placed in areas where their expertise can be utilized (such as UAE hiring Western military personnel to man advanced weapon systems that locals are untrained in handling). Rarely do they ever do front line fighting.

• Much like the Soldiers of Fortune in Africa during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Mercenaries generally kept their head down and would primarily set up impressive fireworks, do a couple of maneuvers and then sit comfortably in a local bar for the whole thing to blow over. (In the case of Africa those minor maneuvers proved intimidating enough to bring opposition factions to the negotiation table with the hiring government).

• Blackwater has lost 3 Apaches, 40+ military vehicles along with 7 regular cars & 5 armored vehicles during this operation [Source]

• Video of a downed American-built AH-64 helicopter gunship [Source]

• Yemen and Saudi Arabia held peace talks but the ceasefire broke down when Saudi Arabia violated the truce by launching airstrikes on Houthi targets inside Yemen (signature strikes). [Source]

• Video of Houthis going through Saudi Arabian positions after they’ve been overrun. Take note of timestamp 27:58 and 40:05 which highlights the pampered lifestyle of the Saudi Arabian military compared to their skeleton-thin Houthi counterparts. Yes I think that might be a Saker in 40:05 [Source]

• The KSA finally takes the Hanish Islands from Houthi forces displaying a strategic victory in this entire debacle [Source]

• Houthi forces are converting older SA-2 surface-to-air missiles into makeshift surface-to-surface rockets. [Source]

• Two senior Gulf commanders, Sultan Mohammed Ali al-Kitbi of the UAE and Abdullah al-Sahian head of Saudi Special Forces, were killed in an OTR-21 Tochka missile attack committed by Yemeni Republican Guard forces aligned with the Houthis. [Source] [Source]

• A Tochka missile was used in the past against a coalition ammo depot which killed 52 UAE, 10 Saudi, 5 Bahraini, and unspecified number of Yemeni troops loyal to the exiled prime minister. Another was used to strike a Saudi Arabian naval base. [Source] [Source]

• Tochka is another type of “short” range ballistic missile produced by the Soviet Union/Russia but augmented and modified by North Korea as well. [Source]

• KSA paratroopers are conducting a massive infantry airborne drop near Sana, some are rumoring this is a big bid to recapture the capital from Houthis. [Source]

• Saudi Arabia has been targeting infrastructure and civilians since the inception of the conflict, now focusing on fishing boats, assuming they are the primary source of smuggling weapons for the Houthis (which would sail through the Omani coast as Oman has been a silent partner in the Arab Coalition against Yemen. Oman shares a border with Yemen but has yet to send troops to support the Yemen operation). [Source]

• Saudi Arabia buying the silence of Western media now covered by wikileaks. [Source]