Yemen, Aden – The Southern Armed Forces announced today that they successfully dealt with an enemy drone that was flying over the skies of the temporary capital, Aden, and forced it to move away before it could penetrate the airspace.
The military spokesman for the Southern Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, confirmed that the air defenses accurately detected the aircraft and were able to neutralize it in a timely manner.
Possible link to the Houthi militia and the Shabwa attack
The captain indicated that initial information suggests the aircraft may belong to the Houthi militia, but the official designation is currently “hostile aircraft” pending the final technical report. He explained, “As soon as we receive the report, we will announce the aircraft’s full details and specifications.”
This incident coincided with a double attack carried out by al-Qaeda in the al-Musayni’ah area of Shabwa Governorate using drones. In this regard, the captain confirmed that the drones used by al-Qaeda are of “known origin” and are linked to the Houthis and Iran.
The captain cited reports from the Security Council’s Panel of Experts that monitored the arrival of these Iranian-made drones to terrorist groups via the Houthis.
High readiness and a strategy to combat terrorism
The captain confirmed that the Southern Forces succeeded during the past two years in cutting off the most important supply lines related to drones after securing large areas of the coast and desert of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, which limited the ability of the Houthis to deliver weapons and aircraft to terrorist organizations.
The captain described the war against terrorism in the south as a “decisive and existential battle,” noting that the Houthis are providing “a safe environment for al-Qaeda and ISIS,” and are trying to transfer the conflict to the southern fronts by digging tunnels and creating fortifications, in an indication of their intention to expand the scope of the confrontations.
The military spokesman concluded by emphasizing that the Southern Armed Forces have a high level of combat readiness, enabling them to detect any hostile activity early and deal with all air and ground threats in Aden and the rest of the southern governorates, stressing that these operations come within the efforts to protect the South and prevent the expansion of the Houthis and terrorism in the region.
