More Shias killed in Yemen clashes

Posted on by

Yemeni army has killed 17 Shia fighters and destroyed several vehicles that were carrying aid to the fighters, the official Saba news agency reports.

According to the agency, Yemeni troops killed 17 Zaidi local fighters and arrested four others in fighting late on Wednesday in the mountainous province of Saada, north of the country, as the army has stepped up its all-out offensive against the Zaidi Shias – also known as Houthis,Press TV reported.

Jet fighters hit posts of the Shia fighters as the troops were exchanging fire with Houthis, a local official told Saba.

The army has also destroyed several vehicles that were carrying aid to the fighters, he added.

The Yemeni military launched an offensive against the Shia Zaidis in Saada and Amran provinces three weeks ago, accusing the Zaidis of trying to restore a Zaidi imamate system, overthrown in a 1962 coup.

Zaidi Shias say they are defending themselves against religious oppression and they have vowed to retaliate against the attacks until their rights are achieved.

They also accuse Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda of helping the Yemeni government in its crackdown on Houthis.

Yemen’s recent military offensive against Zaidi Shia fighters – dubbed ‘Operation Scorched Earth’ – has left scores of civilians dead and thousands of others displaced.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has warned about the dire humanitarian situation in Saada province since fighting has prevented emergency aid from reaching the crisis-hit area.

Al Qaeda group claims responsibility for Baghdad bombings

Posted on by

An Al-Qaeda group in Iraq claimed responsibility Wednesday for five coordinated bombings that killed 127 people in Baghdad, US-based monitors said.

An Al-Qaeda group in Iraq claimed responsibility Wednesday for five coordinated bombings that killed 127 people in Baghdad, US-based monitors said.
  
The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) issued a statement on a jihadist forum saying it carried out Tuesday’s string of car and truck bombings at ministries and courthouses in the Iraqi capital that also wounded 450 people, SITE said.
  
The Al-Qaeda statement, translated by the US monitoring group, threatened more attacks and said they were a “third-wave” after earlier deadly bombings on August 19 and October 25 that killed over 100 people.
  
“The list of targets will not end, with permission from Allah, until the flag of monotheism is raised once against on the land of Baghdad and the sharia of Allah rules the land and the worshippers,” it said.
  
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sacked Baghdad’s security chief after the latest attacks, which police said were carried out by bombers backed by groups in Syria or Saudi Arabia.
  
Maliki’s intervention came as enraged MPs demanded answers from the country’s leaders over the blasts, which accounted for more dead than the total number killed by violence in all of November, and undermined the government’s claims of improved security ahead of March 7 elections.
  
Violence across Iraq dropped dramatically last month, with the fewest deaths in attacks recorded since the 2003 invasion. Official figures showed a total of 122 people were killed in November.
  
Both the Baghdad government and the US military have warned of a rise in attacks in the run-up to the election.
  
Despite Tuesday’s attacks, US forces remain on track to begin withdrawing from Iraq in large numbers next year, said Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  
The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group is a US-based organization that monitors extremist websites.

New Uranium Units Not to Confront IAEA: Ahmadinejad

Posted on by

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran’s plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants was not aimed at confronting the UN atomic watchdog, which censured Tehran last month, state television website reported. He also said Iran will continue to build the new plants, adding that sites for five of the 10 units had been finalized.
  
“The news that we announced (about the new plants) was not to confront the board of the agency, as we had assigned the (Iranian) atomic energy organization to locate several sites (for the new plants) months ago,” the state television website quoted him as saying. “We recently even asked them (Iran’s atomic agency) about the delay” in identifying the sites, Ahmadinejad said, adding that Iran has always “acted on its decisions, which are definite.”

 

Yemen Shia rebels: Two women killed in Saudi air strike

Posted on by

Yemeni Shia rebels reported on Tuesday that two women were killed and a child was wounded in Saudi air strikes on Yemeni villages near the two countries’ border.

One of the raids “hit a house, martyring two women and wounding a child” in Shida, the rebels said in a statement posted on their website, adding that a government building was targeted in the village.

The Zaidi Shia rebels, known as Huthis, said Saudi aircraft also continued to bomb the Yemeni villages of Malaheez and Hassameh, as well as in Razeh and Wahidan.

With a long-running conflict between the Huthis and Sanaa spilling over, Saudi Arabia began attacks on Yemeni rebel positions on November 3. Riyadh said the strikes have been restricted to Saudi territory.

Riyadh also said it launched reprisals against the rebels after they attacked the Jabal al-Dukhan border area last week, killing one Saudi border guard and wounding 11 others.

The Yemeni government launched an all-out offensive called Operation Scorched Earth against the rebels on August 11.