Raids take out Houthi ballistic missiles

Saudi-led naval forces imposed a blockade on Yemen’s ports as coalition airstrikes on Monday repelled an advance on Aden by Houthi terrorists and forces loyal to the country’s former president. The move to block ports is aimed at preventing the Houthis from rearming, and comes after the coalition achieved full control of the skies and bombed a number of rebel-held airports. Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Assiri, consultant at the office of defense minister, told reporters in Riyadh that naval forces are blocking the movement of ships to prevent weapons and militants from entering or leaving Yemen. “On day 5, our airstrike objective included ballistic missile stocks, air defense, ammunition storage, troops movement supply and strictly monitoring Saudi-Yemeni border, whereas ground operation included artillery fire, land forces aviation attacks and anti-mortar firing and maritime operation had primary motive of maritime blockade,” Al-Assiri said. The spokesman said: “Ground forces are trained and ready and will perform their duty at the right time.” Saudi Arabia is leading Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen along with coalition partners the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan. Al-Assiri said the coalition forces are progressing as per the plan and will ensure the Houthis’ are defeated and the legitimate government in Yemen, led by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, is restored. The military also destroyed their (Houthis) artillery stocks and vehicle attempting to target our forces, he said. Al-Assiri denied reports in a section of media that an aerial strike by coalition forces on Monday killed dozens of refugees at a camp in north Yemen. “We are taking extra care to avoid collateral damage as safety of civilians is our top priority.” On the Kingdom’s border security, he said: “We are on full alert on the border and repulse any attack by terrorists.” Arab News