Five soldiers killed in Houthi drone attack

An attack by pro-Iranian Houthi militias targeting a military parade by the Yemeni National Army killed at least five soldiers yesterday. Chief of staff General Abdullah al-Nakhi, his deputy, Saleh al-Zandani, and Lahij governor Ahmad Abdullah al-Turki were all at the base at the time of the attack, a pro-government source said. The governor of Lahaj and the head of army intelligence unit were also injured in the attack.

The Houthis used a drone to attack the parade taking place in Al-Anad military base in Lahaj province, said Al Arabiya. Al-Anad, which lies some 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Yemen’s second city Aden, was the headquarters for US troops overseeing a long-running drone war against Al-Qaeda until March 2014.

Earlier, on Wednesday, in a failed attempt to fire a ballistic missile in the al-Tayyar district in Saada governorate north of Yemen, targeting Saudi Arabia, as many as 15 members of the militias were killed. According to Al Arabiya, the missile exploded when Houthis were trying to launch the ballistic missiles.