The Saudi-led coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen described the Houthis’ claims today (Saturday) targeting the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as misleading.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “What the Houthis are being exposed to in Taiz and the human losses of the group’s members at the hands of the heroes of the Yemeni armed forces and the popular resistance on all fronts, makes them search for imaginary victories,” explaining that behavior as “an attempt to divert attention from the extent of the losses and the growing popular anger at the behavior of the militias, and their connection to foreign agendas that have brought chaos and devastation to Yemen.”
The Iranian-backed group claimed that it targeted Riyadh, at a time when the unified Yemeni forces are fighting battles to repel the group's attempts to stabilize the positions it attacked on the West Coast.
Recent Yemeni reports indicate that the group lost about 5,000 fighters within a week, while the Yemeni armed forces are carrying out a number of air and ground military operations on the various fronts attacked by the Houthis.
Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, announced in a statement that 257 precise targeting operations were carried out against Houthi sites, movements and military capabilities, using military aircraft, drones, artillery, missiles and launchers.
The Yemeni military spokesman said that the operations included Sanaa, Midi (northwest), and Baqim (Saada), in addition to the Al-Jawf, Ma’rib, Al-Bayda, and Lahj fronts, with the operational effort focusing on the Taiz fronts, targeting command and control centers, gatherings, concentrations, combat reserves, weapons and ammunition stores, and military supply lines and means.
According to initial field estimates, the operations resulted in the neutralization of at least 700 militia members, according to Al-Nuzaili, who explained that strategic and high-value military targets estimated at 170 combat vehicles and vehicles were destroyed. He said that this “had a direct impact on the militias’ combat ability and limited their ability to continue their attacks against civilians in their homes and villages.”
The UAE Attorney General, Counselor Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, announced that investigations into the Flydubai flight FZ1073 incident revealed that the plane’s co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist operation.
The Public Prosecutor explained that the plane’s co-pilot began implementing his plan during the flight, as he assaulted the plane’s pilot inside the cockpit, using the “Crash Axe,” and tried to control the plane’s controls, according to what the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
The Public Prosecutor confirmed that investigations are still underway to uncover all the circumstances of the incident, its motives, and the connections associated with it, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence, with the final results being announced as soon as the necessary procedures are completed.
The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv came close to disaster on Wednesday morning, when the attacker stabbed his captain.
People on board the plane said in interviews that the captain, who was severely injured, was able to open the cockpit door, allowing a group of passengers and crew members to control the attacker, while two reserve pilots who were on board the flight were able to regain control of the plane, stabilize it, and then land it safely.
CNN revealed, citing sources, that the plane's co-pilot was named Humam Al-Hammami.
The American Wall Street Journal quoted informed sources as saying that the co-pilot had previously been banned from flying in the Sultanate of Oman, due to fears that he might embrace extremist ideological ideas. The sources added that the pilot was hired by Fly Dubai, which allowed him to fly flights on the route linking the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
