In imminent blow to Houthis, army creeps to Yemen’s Karbala

In the latest developments in the war in Yemen to clear the country of the control of the Iranian-backed Houthi group, the national army forces backed by the Arab coalition succeeded in making significant progress in today’s battles during its advance in the province of Haidan in Saada province after violent clashes with militia fighters.

The commander of the third brigade who is advancing the forces in Saada, announced progress in the province, which is the main stronghold of the group, indicating that the troops are located in the vicinity of the house of Hussein al-Houthi, only 6 kilometers away.

He added in his statements to the site of “September Net” of the Yemeni army that the militias suffered heavy losses in the ranks of the fighters and field leaders during confrontations in addition to the destruction of a number of crews and equipment amid progress of the Yemeni army forces backed by air support from the fighters of the coalition to support legitimacy.

Yemen’s Karbala

The importance of the Directorate of Haidan in the province of Saada stems from being the stronghold, which is believed to host the top leaders of the coup, including Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the commander of the militias themselves. Haidan contains the mountains of Maran and Houthis take its caves as fortified headquarters for them and their close associates.

The area of Maran also includes the holy area of Jerf Salman which the militias have transformed into a holy site with Shiite followers, like the Iraqi city of Karbala. In Karbala, Imam Hussein was buried and where a large shrine built in the Persian architectural style became a shrine, a mosque for visitors and a place to hold rituals after Hussain Badr al-Din al-Houthi, the founder of the group, was buried and was killed on September 10, 2004. The group received its body in 2013 to be buried in Jerf Salman.

The fall of the Maran area, which seems imminent, is a devastating blow to the coup militias. The region is of great strategic and spiritual importance to Houthi’s followers, which will cause the militia morale to collapse after the fall of their main stronghold.

Cut off the snake’s head

The Arab Coalition for Legitimacy in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, launched the cutting-off-snake-head operation in October last year to control the province of Saada and liquidate the warlords to end the insurgency in Yemen. On April 7, Yemeni army forces started the second phase of the military operation in the province of Saada, with the aim of controlling the area of Maran Directorate of Haidan southwest of the province.

The Saudi-led coalition forces play an important and direct role in the battle, by targeting the movement of Houthi aircraft sites and providing the support of the forces advancing on the ground.