Houthis claim firing missile toward Israel and attacking Red Sea ship

The Houthis claimed on Tuesday that they had attacked a ship in the Red Sea as well as fired missiles toward Israel, and they rejected a UN Security Council statement ordering them to cease their assaults. (AFP/File)
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Updated 19 March 2024
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Houthis claim firing missile toward Israel and attacking Red Sea ship

  • At least 9 killed after militia blew up house in Al-Bayda
  • Militia reject UN Security Council statement ordering them to cease assaults

AL-MUKALLA: The Houthis claimed on Tuesday that they had attacked a ship in the Red Sea as well as fired missiles toward Israel, and they rejected a UN Security Council statement ordering them to cease their assaults.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that their forces fired anti-ship missiles at a “US” vessel called “Mado” in the Red Sea and a number of missiles at locations in the Israeli city of Eilat, vowing to continue their missile and drone attacks on ships and Israel until Israel lifts its siege on Gaza.
According to marinetraffic.com, which provides information on ship whereabouts and movements, Mado is a Marshall-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tanker traveling from Saudi Yanbu Port to Singapore.
Since November, the Houthis have captured a commercial ship and launched hundreds of missiles and drones against commercial and navy vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden, claiming to be acting in support of Palestinians.
At the same time, the Houthis rejected a UN Security Council statement on Monday that condemned their assaults, called for compliance with the UN weapons embargo on Yemen, and urged the Yemeni militia to “immediately” cease their ship attacks. “Your statement is below our feet. When you put an end to genocidal crimes, we will cease our attacks,” Houthi leader Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said on X.
The US Central Command said on Tuesday morning that its forces had preemptively destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones and three storage containers in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Monday.
“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” the US military said in a statement.
Meanwhile, at least 18 people, including children and women, were believed dead or wounded on Tuesday in Yemen’s central province of Al-Bayda after being trapped in the rubble of their homes after a nearby house explosion by Houthi militia.
Yemeni activists, neighbors and government authorities said that the Houthis exploded a home belonging to an opponent in Radaa town in Al-Bayda on Tuesday morning, causing the collapse of adjacent mud-built buildings that held at least 18 people.
Amateur videos show neighbors removing the bodies of victims while others use bare hands and stones to rescue trapped people begging for help from under the wreckage.
Nasser Ali Al-Sanae, a Yemeni activist from Radaa who now lives in Marib city after fleeing Houthi repression, told Arab News that at least nine people have been confirmed dead and that people are desperately trying to rescue the trapped people, adding that outraged residents blocked roads and staged a rare protest in the town against the Houthis to condemn the deaths of civilians.
“This is one among many Houthi crimes committed against Yemenis in general and the Radaa people in particular. They blew up the home, even though there are old buildings in the vicinity that are in danger of collapse,” Al-Sanae said.
A video, corroborated by Al-Sanae, became popular on the Internet. It showed a man calling to a woman trapped under the debris.
“Aisha! Are you OK?” the man said, clearing a way out to free the trapped woman.
The deaths of civilians have generated an outcry in Yemen, with activists and government officials blaming the Houthis for blowing up their opponents’ homes and oppressing people in regions that they control.
“This is the truth of the terrorist Houthi militia associated with Iran, which falsely claims its concern, humanity, and movement to help “Gaza,” while demolishing Yemeni houses in cold blood while families, women and children, are inside,” Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani, said in a post on X.


Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills, but no casualties are reported

Updated 46 sec ago
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Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills, but no casualties are reported

ANKARA: An explosion occurred at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, an official said, adding the situation was “under control” and there were no reports of any casualties.
Mayor Tahir Buyukakin told private NTV television that the blast occurred at the Turkish Petroleum Refineries company, Tupras, in Izmit provicince during “routine drills.”
A fire was quickly brought under control by the privately owned company’s own emergency crews and no request for help was made, he said.
Video footage from the site showed smoke rising from the refinery.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

Updated 9 sec ago
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Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported a strike on an apartment in the Jiyeh coastal area south of Beirut on Tuesday, more than a month into the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The official National News Agency said “a raid targeted a residential apartment in a building in the town of Jiyeh,” where an AFP correspondent said a large plume of grey smoke covered the area.


Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

Updated 38 min 40 sec ago
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Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

  • Militants from the Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid in Sistan-Baluchistan province on October 26
  • Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces

TEHRAN: Iran’s military has killed eight militants in an operation in the restive southeast since a deadly attack last month on a police station, state media reported Tuesday.
Militants from the Pakistan-based Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid on October 26 in Sistan-Baluchistan province — one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces.
It has long been a flashpoint for cross-border attacks by separatists and extremists, opposed to the authorities in Iran.
Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Shafahi said “a total of eight terrorists have been killed” since the beginning of operations in the province, according to the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.
“Fourteen other terrorists have been arrested,” including key figures involved in the attack, he said, adding security forces seized weapons and ammunition.
Shortly after the attack in Taftan county, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, a report on the Tasnim news agency said four militants had been killed and four others arrested.
Late on Monday, IRNA quoted Guards ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour as saying the attackers “were not Iranian,” though he did not specify their nationalities.
In early October, at least six people including police officers were killed in two separate attacks in the province.
Jaish Al-Adl said on Telegram they had carried out the attacks.
Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, the group is proscribed as a “terrorist organization” by both Iran and the United States.
 
 


Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

Updated 05 November 2024
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Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

  • The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing

GENEVA: More than 100 patients including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, a World Health Organization official said.
“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.
The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then a portion will travel to Romania.


Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

  • In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security

DUBAI: Two French citizens detained in Iran since May 2022 are in good health and being held in good detention conditions, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Tuesday, according to state media.
Last month, France’s foreign ministry said the conditions that three of its nationals were being held in by Iran were unacceptable.
“According to the relevant authorities, these two people have good conditions in the detention center and are in good health, so any claim regarding their conditions being abnormal is rejected,” Jahangir said.
The spokesperson was referring to Cecile Koehler and Jacques Paris, who he said were arrested on charges of espionage and will have their next court hearing on Nov. 24.
Jahangir did not mention the third French national detained in Iran. French media have disclosed only his first name, Olivier.
In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.