Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthi camps in Yemen after drone attack

US Navy reports seizure of arms shipment from Iran to Yemeni rebels

The remains of a Houthi drone intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition earlier in December. SPA

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a rebel camp in Sanaa, Saudi state TV reported early on Thursday.

“The operation in Sanaa is an immediate response after destroying a drone launched towards Jizan,” it said.

The state TV report said the attack destroyed seven drones and weapons storehouses at the camp in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.

The Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched drones and missiles at Jizan, on the Red Sea coast, and other cities in Saudi Arabia.

The Saud-led coalition has been supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Iran-aligned rebels since early 2015, months after they seized Sanaa.

On Wednesday, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said two of its patrol ships seized a cargo of weapons from a stateless fishing vessel during a flag verification boarding in the North Arabian Sea on Monday.

The shipment consists of approximately 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition, the fleet said.

“The stateless vessel was assessed to have originated in Iran and transited international waters along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to the Houthis in Yemen,” it said.

Direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthi movement contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and US sanctions.

The vessel’s five crew members, who identified themselves as Yemeni citizens, will be repatriated, the fleet said.

US naval forces sank the ship after removing the crew and cargo, it said

Guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey seized dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers from a stateless vessel transiting the North Arabian Sea in May.