- Title: Houthi armed power has grown rapidly during Yemen's war
- Date: 17th September 2019
- Summary: Saudi Arabia's Abha airport is hit by a Houthi missile strike ABHA, SAUDI ARABIA (FILE - JUNE 13, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH ABHA AIRPORT / SIGN INSIDE ABHA AIRPORT DAMAGE INSIDE ABHA AIRPORT CAUSED BY MISSILE STRIKE MAN FILMING DAMAGE ON MOBILE PHONE VARIOUS OF DAMAGE OUTSIDE AIRPORT BUILDING The Saudi coalition show air strikes hitting Houthi military locations RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (FILE - DECEMBER 3, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS AERIAL VIEWS PLAYING ON A SCREEN SHOWING EXPLOSIONS ON TARGETS
- Embargoed: 1st October 2019 21:05
- Keywords: military Houthi rebels Yemen missiles Aramco Saudi Arabia Houthi timeline weapons Houthis
- Location: SANAA AND ADEN, YEMEN / ABHA AND RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- City: SANAA AND ADEN, YEMEN / ABHA AND RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: Various
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA004AX1RBK7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
Yemen's Houthi fighters have built an arsenal using local manufacturing, foreign expertise and parts smuggled from Iran, their ally, and elsewhere to the point they now boast of drones and missiles able to reach deep into Saudi Arabia.
Whether or not the Iran-aligned group carried out Saturday's (September 14) crippling raid on a Saudi oil plant -- as it asserts -- its capabilities mean it can feasibly claim responsibility for the strike, a humiliating blow against its top adversary.
Much remains unclear about the attack: Some Western officials believe responsibility lies with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, or Iran itself.
What is certain is that Houthi weapon capabilities have evolved rapidly in the past couple of years in accuracy and distance, analysts, U.N. data and Houthi media indicate.
The Houthis' growing military clout has checked Saudi ambitions in Yemen.
Riyadh leads a coalition that intervened in 2015 to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which the Houthis ousted from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
This proliferation has taken place despite a years-long air and sea blockade on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen and years of strikes the coalition say are against weapons depots, drone manufacturing locations and military communications hubs.
(Production: Tarek Fahmy) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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