Yemeni forces take strategic military position on Saudi soil

Yemeni forces have seized a strategic military position in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border city of Najran, inflicting heavy losses on the regime’s forces in the ensuing clashes.

The Yemeni army backed by the popular forces and Houthi Ansarullah fighters conducted a surprise attack on the Saudi troops controlling Snipers’ Peak vantage point over the city of Najran and raised the Yemeni flag there.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television released footage on Wednesday showing Saudi forces hastily fleeing from the area, leaving behind their equipment.

During the operation, the Yemeni army and allied forces killed or injured an unspecified number of Saudi forces. They also destroyed and seized a tank and several armored vehicles as well as ammunition abandoned by the Saudi troops.

The retaliatory attacks come as Saudi Arabia has intensified its air raids against the Arab country after the collapse the peace talks between Yemeni warring sides in Kuwait.

The picture taken on August 9, 2016 shows smoke billowing behind buildings following a Saudi strike. ©AFP
In another development on Thursday, Saudi warplanes struck an area in Baqim district of Sa’ada Province, leaving at least five civilians dead and several others injured.

Yemeni forces have been launching retaliatory attacks against Saudi forces, targeting military positions with mortar shells in Najran area in past days.

Reports said Monday that the Yemeni army also downed a Saudi Apache helicopter in Najran region.

Yemeni forces also fired 12 Katyusha rockets at a base in the same territory. The army and allied Houthi fighters also captured Najran Dam and took control of several posts as Saudi troops fled the area.

Saudi Arabia started an air campaign against Yemen in March 2015 and later launched ground operations to undermine the ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement and its allies and restore power to Hadi.

Nearly 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s military aggression which lacks any international mandate.