Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthis) rebel movement attacked the port of Al-Dabah, located in the southern province of Hadhramaut, on Monday, using mined drones. Al Mashhad news portal reported this, citing a statement from the republic's Ministry of Defense.
According to the portal, the Yemeni air defense forces intercepted and shot down several drones launched by the Houthis at the seaport. One of the drones hit an oil platform and caused material damage. As Al Hadath TV reported, this was the second attack on the Al-Dabah port in a month.
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Yahya Saria, a spokesman for the Houthis, said that the movement had succeeded in forcing an oil tanker that was intending to enter the port to leave the area.
On October 21, two drones were used by the Houthis to attack the Al-Dabah port terminal. According to Saria, the strike was carried out to "prevent a tanker entering the port from participating in the looting of Yemeni oil." The administration of the Al Mukalla port, located about 50 kilometers southwest of the Al-Dabah port, decided to close the harbor on October 25 after a drone suspected to belong to the Houthis was shot down in the vicinity of the port.
In Yemen, the confrontation between government forces and Houthi militias has been ongoing since August 2014. It reached its most active phase when the Saudi-led coalition invaded the country in March 2015. In early April, the parties to the conflict managed to negotiate a ceasefire, but the ceasefire expired on October 2.
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Photo: Jialiang Gao/Creative Commons 3.0
Based on materials from TASS