Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...has carried out 94
...
KABOOM!...
s in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
over the past 24 hours, Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
military front man Yahya Sarie claimed, according to a Friday Ynet report.
The attacks were allegedly carried out using fighter jets and missiles and targeted civilian sites in the provinces of Sana'a, Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Bayda.
Sarie alleged the strikes caused civilian deaths and injuries, according to the report.
He also claimed that the total number of Saudi strikes on Yemen since the beginning of the escalation has reached 1,350.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Friday that it had intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, Rooters reported on Friday.
TENSIONS BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA, HOUTHIS REMAIN HIGH
The Houthis threatened to target bridges in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for airstrikes the group claims were carried out by the Saudi military, a Sana'a military source told Lebanese outlet Al Akhbar on Monday.
According to the source, Saudi Arabian airstrikes have targeted Yemeni bridges and other civilian infrastructure while claiming they were missile launch platforms.
"Civilian bridges are not used for military purposes," the source said, calling the Saudi practice "utter bankruptcy."
SAUDI ARABIA PREPARES OFFENSIVE AGAINST HOUTHIS
Rooters also reported Friday that Saudi Arabia is preparing an offensive against the Houthis aimed at breaking the group's grip on the coast and securing Red Sea shipping routes.
According to six people familiar with the preparations, the operation is expected to begin in the coming weeks. It would be led on the ground by Yemeni forces overseen by Riyadh and supported by Saudi airstrikes.
The objective of the offensive is to reverse gains made by the Houthis last month, when they seized control of parts of the coast, particularly around the Bab al Mandab Strait, according to the report.
Saudi officials are considering two possible options for the assault, according to Gulf and Yemeni officials. One would involve a narrowly focused attack around Bab al Mandab, while the other would involve a broader offensive with synchronized attacks on multiple fronts across Yemen, including in Al Bayda, Marib, Taiz, and Al Jawf.
More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized in the offensive, depending on the scale, the officials all said.
Spokespeople for the Saudi and Yemeni governments, the Houthi group and the US military didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the Saudi plans.
Bab al-Mandab is the southern exit passage of the Red Sea, a key shipping route between the Mediterranean and Asia that's assumed even more importance this year as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by the Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
conflict.