Saudi-Backed Mercenaries’ Attempt to Advance in Taiz Foiled by Yemeni Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Yemeni military source said the country’s army and allied fighters from the Popular Committees have thwarted an attempt by Saudi mercenaries to advance in the southwestern province of Taiz.
Yemen’s al-Masirah television network quoted a military source as saying Sunday that Saudi-backed mercenaries had sought to infiltrate “from several routes on the fronts of al-Dabab and Tubayshi'ah (districts) in Taiz Province”, but they were repelled by the Yemeni forces.
The source added that the Yemeni forces killed and injured dozens of mercenaries in the operation and destroyed their equipment.
According to al-Masirah, the Saudi mercenaries’ frequent attempts to escalate the situation in Taiz and other regions aimed to relieve the military pressure exerted by Yemeni forces on their fellow militants in Ma’rib.
Last week, Yemen’s Defense Minister Mohammad al-Atefi said capturing Ma’rib City is “a matter of time”, noting that the Yemeni forces reached the vicinity of Ma’rib City, which is currently “semi-encircled”.
He also stated that the Saudi war on Yemen has already been defeated and that the aggressors have no choice but to admit defeat.
Yemen’s defense minister says the Saudi-led aggression has been defeated and that the aggressors have no choice but to admit defeat.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement, which has been running the Yemeni government from the capital, Sana’a, since the former Yemeni government fled from the capital.
The Saudi war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases in the poorest Middle Eastern country.
In the meantime, Yemeni armed forces and the popular committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.
Nearly 3,000 militants killed, injured in Ma’rib in October
According to a pro-Hadi news website, nearly 3,000 Saudi-backed militants were killed and injured in the battle for Ma’rib in October.
On Sunday, al-Khabar al-Yemeni cited medical sources as saying that 1,323 pro-Hadi militants, including senior commanders, were killed in Ma’rib last month, while 1,615 others were injured.
According to the report, 60 percent of the casualties took place in al-Abdiyah and al-Juba districts.
