Saudi-led Coalition Claims to Down 2 Houthi Drones

The Saudi-led Sunni coalition supporting Yemen’s government in its fight against Iran-backed Shi’ite rebels says it has downed two drones heading from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia. According to the Saudi state media agency SPA, the drones, launched by Houthi rebels, were en route to a mostly civilian border town. The rebels had no immediate comment. If true, it could signal a resumption of the use of drones by the Houthis, who are accused of having used them on a regular basis, along with Iranian missiles, against strategic targets in Saudi Arabia, including airfields and oil pipelines. Most of the rebel’s recent fighting has been undertaken by ground forces seeking to take further territory from government troops and their allies. The Houthis already control most of the country’s key cities, including the capital Sanaa, having forced the government to transfer ifs operations to the port city of Aden – where they are now facing southern separatists who had one fought alongside them but are now agitating for a return to two Yemens.